Diahann Carroll

Over her long career, Diahann Carroll has distinguished herself as a singer and as an actress on screen, television, and the stage. The Bronx-born beauty started out at age ten when she received a scholarship from the Metropolitan Opera to enroll in New York's prestigious High School of Music and Art. While Carroll was a sociology major at New York University, she began modeling and then singing in nightclubs. This led to television performances, which in turn led her to Broadway in 1954, when she debuted in House of Flowers. That year she also made her film debut in Carmen Jones. In 1962, Carroll earned a Tony award for starring in the Broadway production of No Strings. She made her mark on television in 1968 when she was cast in the title role of the pioneering sitcom Julia, the first television series to star an African-American actress. The show was also innovative for portraying the travails of an intelligent, capable single mother (Julia's husband died in Vietnam) who juggles her career, home life, and romance. When it was first broadcast, the show's interracial themes generated some controversy, but largely due to the charming Carroll, the show became popular and ran until 1971. In 1974, Carroll received an Oscar nomination for Claudine. In addition to appearing in films, Carroll has continued to perform on television in movies and miniseries. - Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide