Encyclopedia Of African American Actresses In Film And Television

Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television This page intentionally left blank Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television BOB MCCANN McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London Publisher’s Note: Bob McCann died in 2009, shortly after completing the manuscript for this book. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA McCann, Bob, 1948– Encyclopedia of African American actresses in film and television / Bob McCann. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0 illustrated case binding : 50# alkaline paper 1. African American actresses — Biography — Dictionaries. I. Title. PN1995.9.N4M345 2010 791.4302' 8092396073 — dc22 2009037436 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2010 Bob McCann. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Front cover: Eartha Kitt; background ©2010 Shutterstock. Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com For Martha Acknowledgments My thanks to Tom Lisanti of the New York Public Library Photographic Services and Permissions, Katrina Groover, Mary F. Yearwood and the staff of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, Adam Robinson, Hattie Winston and Lark Voorhees for that killer head shot! vi Contents Acknowledgments Preface vi 1 AFRICAN AMERICAN ACTRESSES, A TO Z 3 Bibliography Index vii 375 377 This page intentionally left blank Preface into the category of African American. However, many black actresses not born in America have had notable careers in American films or on American TV, and are American citizens or have dual citizenships. This includes a number of British- and Canadian-born actresses. Then there are the Caribbean-born actresses who are or were American citizens and who have done all or most of their acting in the U.S. Also included are African-born actresses who are American citizens and who have primarily focused on U.S. films or TV. A good example is Akosua Busia, born in Ghana, but who is an American citizen (the former wife of director John Singleton), and who has acted extensively in America, including a key role in The Color Purple. • A small but significant group of actresses who, although born in America, spent most of their professional careers in Europe (e.g., Josephine Baker, Olive Moorefield). These actresses are of course considered African American, although much of their work was not done in this country. • New young actresses who appear to have the potential for sustained careers — e.g., Keke Palmer, Yaya DaCosta, and many others. I excluded some of the new generation of actresses because there was a danger of an imbalance of contemporary entries, since there are so many more opportunities for black actresses these days. Inclusion and exclusion of new genera-