Diahann Carroll (/daɪˈæn/; born Carol Diann Johnson; July , â€"
October , ) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She
rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to
feature black casts, including Carmen Jones () and Porgy and Bess ().
In , Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for an African
American woman, for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. In
she starred in Claudine alongside James Earl Jones for which she
received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.Her debut in
Julia, the first series on American television to star a Black woman
in a non-stereotypical role, was a milestone both in her career and
the medium. In the s, she played the role of Dominique Deveraux, a
mixed-race diva, in the prime time 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 . She died on October , after a battle with breast
cancer.Carol Diahann Johnson was born in the Bronx, New York City, on
July , , to John Johnson, a subway conductor, and Mabel (Faulk), a
nurse.: While Carroll was still an infant, the family moved to Harlem,
where she grew up.: She attended Music and Art High School, and was a
classmate of Billy Dee Williams. In many interviews about her
childhood, Carroll recalls her parents' support, and their enrolling
her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By the time Carroll was ,
she was modeling for Ebony. "She also began entering television
contests, including Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, under the name
Diahann Carroll.": After graduating from high school, she attended New
York University, where she majored in sociology,: "but she left before
graduating to pursue a show-business career, promising her family that
if the career did not materialize after two years, she would return to
college."
October , ) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She
rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to
feature black casts, including Carmen Jones () and Porgy and Bess ().
In , Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for an African
American woman, for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. In
she starred in Claudine alongside James Earl Jones for which she
received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.Her debut in
Julia, the first series on American television to star a Black woman
in a non-stereotypical role, was a milestone both in her career and
the medium. In the s, she played the role of Dominique Deveraux, a
mixed-race diva, in the prime time 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 . She died on October , after a battle with breast
cancer.Carol Diahann Johnson was born in the Bronx, New York City, on
July , , to John Johnson, a subway conductor, and Mabel (Faulk), a
nurse.: While Carroll was still an infant, the family moved to Harlem,
where she grew up.: She attended Music and Art High School, and was a
classmate of Billy Dee Williams. In many interviews about her
childhood, Carroll recalls her parents' support, and their enrolling
her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By the time Carroll was ,
she was modeling for Ebony. "She also began entering television
contests, including Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, under the name
Diahann Carroll.": After graduating from high school, she attended New
York University, where she majored in sociology,: "but she left before
graduating to pursue a show-business career, promising her family that
if the career did not materialize after two years, she would return to
college."
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