Diahann Carroll
Biography
Diahann Carroll (born Carol Diahann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer and model. She rose to stardom in performances in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including Carmen Jones in 1954 and Porgy and Bess in 1959. In 1962, Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for a black woman, for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. Her 1968 debut in Julia, the first series on American television to star a black woman in a nonstereotypical role, was a milestone both in her career and the medium. In the 1980s she played the role of an interracial diva in the primetime soap opera Dynasty. Carroll was the recipient of numerous stage and screen nominations and awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress In A Television Series in 1968. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the 1974 film Claudine. She was also a breast cancer survivor and activist.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (32)
How It Feels to Be Free
as Self (archival footage)
2021
The Masked Saint
as Ms. Edna
2016
Light Girls
as Self
2015
Peeples
as Nana Peeples
2013
Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
as Self
2013
Sing Your Song
as Self
2012
The Front
as Nana
2010
At Risk
as Nana
2010
Diary of a Single Mom
as Therapist
2009
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as (archive footage)
2004
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
as Self
2002
Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story
as Maria Cole
2000
Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
as Betty Hemings
2000
The Courage to Love
as Pouponne
2000
Jackie's Back!
as Diahann Carroll
1999
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
as Sadie Delany
1999
The Sweetest Gift
as Mrs. Wilson
1998
Motown 40: The Music is Forever
as Self
1998
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
as Self
1998
Eve's Bayou
as Elzora
1997
Jirimpimbira: An African Folk Tale
as Narrator
1995
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
as Lydia Bishop
1994
Color Adjustment
as Self
1992
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
as Vivian Thurlow (archive footage) (uncredited)
1991
Sunday in Paris
as Vernetta Chase
1991
The Five Heartbeats
as Eleanor Potter
1991
Mo' Better Blues
as Jazz Club Singer (uncredited)
1990
Murder in Black and White
as Margo Stover
1990
From the Dead of Night
as Maggie
1989
Joan Rivers and Friends Salute Heidi Abromowitz
as Diahann Carroll
1988
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
as Self
1988
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
as Self
1986
TV Shows (18)
White Collar
as June
2009
Back to You
as Sandra Jenkins
2007
Grey's Anatomy
as Jane Burke
2005
Whoopi
as Viveca Rae
2003
Half & Half
as Grandma Ruth Thorne
2002
The Court
2002
The Legend of Tarzan
as Queen La (voice)
2001
Strong Medicine
as Eve Morton
2000
Soul Food
as Aunt Ruthie
2000
Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
as Betty Hemings
2000
Twice in a Lifetime
as Jael
1999
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Crow (voice)
1995
Touched by an Angel
as Grace Willis
1994
Ellen
as Diahann Carroll
1994
Burke's Law
as Grace Gibson
1994
Intimate Portrait
as Self
1993
A Different World
as Marion Gilbert
1987
The Colbys
1985