Dorothy dandridge husband

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Ruby dandridge
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DANDRIDGE, DOROTHY

DANDRIDGE, DOROTHY (9 Nov. 1923-8 Sept. 1965), Cleveland-born black nightclub entertainer and movie actress, who earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination in 1954, was influenced by her mother, Ruby, a screen and radio actress. Dorothy entered show business at 5 as part of a singing trio with her mother and sister, Vivian. She also performed acrobatic ballet at Cleveland churches and schools, becoming known, with her sisters, as the Wonder Children. The family moved to Los Angeles when Dorothy was 9. Dorothy dropped out of high school and formed a trio with her sister Vivian and friend Etta Jones, singing with Big Band leader Jimmy Lunceford, winning small parts in movies, and in 1940 opening at the Cotton Club in New York City, where Dandridge met dancer Harold Nicholas. They married in 1941; had a daughter, Harolyn, in 1944; and divorced in 1951.

After singing with the Desi Arnaz band at Hollywood Mocambo, and successes on the supper-show circuit, she starred opposite Harry Belafonte in Carmen Jones, a black Broadway musical based on Bizet's opera, which

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Dorothy Dandridge

American actress and singer (1922–1965)

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Carmen Jones (1954).^[1] Dandridge had also performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. During her early career, she performed as a part of the Wonder Children, later the Dandridge Sisters, and appeared in a succession of films, usually in uncredited roles.

In 1959, Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. She was the subject of the 1999 biographical film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, with Halle Berry portraying her. She had been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[2]

Dandridge was married and divorced twice, first to dancer Harold Nicholas (the father of her daughter, Harolyn Suzanne) and then to hotel owner Jack Denison. Dandridge died in 1965 at the age of 42.^[2]

Early life

Dorothy Jean

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Dorothy Dandridge

(1922-1965)

Who Was Dorothy Dandridge?

Actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge found early success in show business by performing with her sister, leading to her first appearances in film. Following her star turn in the 1954 musical Carmen Jones, she became the first African American to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Dandridge found it difficult to replicate that success, and her final years were marred by personal and professional problems, until her death at age 42 in 1965.

Early Life and Show Business

Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, actress Ruby Dandridge, left her husband while she was pregnant, and as such Dorothy never knew her father. She later suffered at the hands of her mother's girlfriend, Geneva Williams, a disciplinarian with a cruel side.

Pushed into show business at a young age by her mother, Dandridge performed with her sister, Vivian, as a song-and-dance team called the Wonder Children. The girls performed throughout the South, playing Black churches and other places.