Diahann Carroll (1935 -2019)
Friday, October 4, 2019 at 3:02PM 
Another legend has left us. Diahann Carroll has passed away at 84 years of age. She was a major pioneer for black actresses in Hollywood, emerging just as things were beginning to happen (a little bit) for actors of color in Hollywood. She made her debut in the historic Carmen Jones (1954) starring Dorothy Dandridge, who then became the first black woman nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Then in 1962 Diahann Carroll achieved a "first" herself, becoming the first black woman to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical with No Strings. By 1968 she was also a TV star headlining a sitcom for three seasons when black stars didn't do that (1968's Julia) and winning a Golden Globe in the role.
More after the jump including lots of gorgeous photos...
In 1974, she built on her already impressive career with an Oscar-nomination for her starring role in the film Claudine (see related post).
Later she caused a stir in primetime soaps during their 80s heyday injecting color into the previously all-white Dynasty where she went head to head with Joan Collins for multiple season as Dominique Deveraux. Carroll lobbied for the part, telling People magazine
I want to be the first black bitch on television.
And so she did.
glamour shots
with Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
in "No Strings" on Broadway (1962)
In Fire Island Pines one summer -- she rented Montgomery Clift's place!
in Eve's Bayou (1997)
For three decades during her peak (1960s-1980s) she was really shaking things up. She continued to work well after that, too, with notable apperances in Eve's Bayou (1997), Grey's Anatomy and more. She will be missed.
Reader Comments (14)
This news absolutely broke my heart when I heard it earlier today. I most associate Carroll with her role as "Marion Gilbert," AKA "Whitley"'s mother on A Different World, and her showdowns with Patti Labelle as "Dwayne"'s mother always were a highlight for me. To reduce her career to just that, however, would be an injustice to the tremendous contributions she made as a pioneering black actress. The epitome beauty, class, grace, elegance, and sophistication, there never will be another like her.
I remember Julia. We were all supposed to be so shocked and aware of a black actress! The show turned out to be a sitcom, and Julia had to deal with some bad stuff with white folks, but mostly, I remember thinking "what's the big deal". RIP Miss Carroll.
There are holes between the white male actors and the white female actors regarding roles and scripts and working with great directors. Between black male actors and black female actors there's an abyss regarding the same matters. The success of a black actor never provides support to a black actress, only to another black actor. RIP Diahann Carroll. She was a pioneer and a fighter. Sadly, there are still many barriers to overcome for the black female player.
I was very young when Julia debuted but watched it religiously. I still fondly remember bits and pieces of it. In later years I saw her in good movies like Claudine and on the goofy tv show Dynasty. Whatever her role, she always telegraphed style and dignity. RIP Diahann. You were a trailblazer! <3
The champagne is burned, motherfuckers!
QUEEN
She's phenomenal in Claudine, and so terrific in her small roles in Carmen Jones and Eve's Bayou. Reading she died this morning broke my heart.
I loved her performance as Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty. I've never forgotten it. I really want to see her Oscar-nominated performance in Claudine. She was clearly an actor who made a very big impact. R.I.P.
It stings for multiple reasons: it was unexpected for the public, there were still things of hers uncollected (honorary acknowledgements), and a sense she was well enough to continue going.
She was a tremendous, groundbreaking talent. She deserved the Kennedy Center Honor and the SAG Award, among other Lifetime Achievement awards.
I used to watch Julia when I was a young kid, my Mom loved all three of the main players Diahann, Lurene Tuttle and Lloyd Nolan, so we never missed a week. It is rerunning on the Aspire network and I've caught a couple of episodes, it's dated for sure but Diahann is always assured and charming.
I didn't love Claudine but she was excellent in it and while Dynasty was silly but satisfying fluff she held her own against the full bore power of Joan Collins.
She was a pathfinder, role model, and gifted actress. Much like Sidney Portier she managed to be elegant and graceful in terms of handling any pressure the situation put her through. Whatever the role and whatever the medium she was someone you noticed and appreciated. RIP.
Gutted. Absolutely heartbroken. I'm in my mid 30's but she was a staple in my childhood.
What a loss! My love for her started as a kid watching A Different World reruns and seeing her in Eve's Bayou before discovering work like Claudine in my teens. She really was a pioneer. Rest in Peace Miss Carroll!
Diahann Carroll was an icon and visionary in the truest sense of the word. I always hoped she'd manage to win an honorary Oscar before it was too late, but that wasn't meant to be. She lived an extraordinary life though, so it's hard to say she was deprived of anything really. I'll always love her for "Dynasty" as the life-giving Dominique Deveraux, but her talent was so vast and meant much more than that silly soap opera. Such a sad day. RIP.