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Dorothy Dandridge
Actress & first African-American woman nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award
Hollywood's first Black leading lady — she broke the colour line at the Oscars only to find that the industry had no place for the door she opened.
The rise
Dandridge began performing as a child in a sister act during the Depression. She transitioned to film and nightclub singing, becoming a major draw at venues that would not let other Black performers through the front door. Her starring role in Carmen Jones (1954) earned her the first Best Actress Oscar nomination for a Black woman.