Actress and singer Diane Carroll. Creative career of 60 years

Born Carol Diane Johnson, more familiar to the public as Diane Carroll, is an American singer and actress whose career spans 6 decades. She entered the history of the film industry as the first dark-skinned performer, awarded the title of laureate of the Tony Award. In total, the actress has five nominations for Emmy, three for Golden Globe and a personal star on the Walk of Fame.

Childhood and youth

Carroll was born in mid-July 1935 in one of the five boroughs of New York - the Bronx, but spent her childhood in the ill-fated area in Harlem. In her early youth, the girl began to show interest in the acting profession, so she was keen on vocal and choreography. The first step in the educational process of the future screen star was the Manhattan school of acting, which Carroll finished brilliantly.

Her tele debut was a performance at the entertainment-game show at the now closed DuMont television company. The girl won the strict jury and was awarded the main prize in the amount of thousands of dollars. Since this moment, the biography of Diane Carroll is closely intertwined with the creative career.

Debut on the big screen

In 1954, Diane Carroll performed the episodic role of the girlfriend of the main character in the musical "Carmen Jones" - this was her debut in a big movie. Simultaneously, the purposeful actress, having decided to conquer the Broadway scene, performed in the musical "House of Flowers". Five years later Carroll participates in the creation of the painting "Porgy and Bess", however, despite her excellent vocal performance, all episodes with her participation were duplicated by opera diva Lawley Jean Norman. Two years later, the actress again withdrew in the artistic tape "Paris Blues" and leaves the big cinema for six years. During this period, she fully devotes herself to the theater. Her dedication and undoubted talent bring deserved success.

Diane becomes the first African American actress to receive the Tony Award. Unfortunately, when the musical decided to film, Hollywood artisans took on the leading role of the white actress Nancy Kwan. On this soil, a lot of scandals and misunderstandings, so the project was never filmed. And Diane Carroll appeared on the big screen in the dramatic picture "Hurry up the sunset."

Peak of popularity

Between 1968 and 1971, the whole of America was delighted with Diane Carroll. The photos of the actress did not descend from the editorials of glossy editions, the singer had a huge army of fans. At this time, Carroll played a key role in the sitcom "Julia." It was a real breakthrough, because her black colleagues before played minor and episodic roles, and Diane became the first black actress to have her own show on US television. Participation in this project brought Carroll a nomination for the Golden Globe and Emmy. After the end of the comedy series, the actress, having replaced the role, played a dramatic role in the film "Claudine", for which she was nominated for an Oscar. Since then, film career Diane has declined. In the following time she played several minor roles in feature films and focused on television.

Return to TV

In 1976, the actress broke into the world of TV with her own variety show, which, although it lasted only 4 episodes, but attracted attention to the personality of Carroll. The performer was not very upset because of the rapid completion of her own project, as she received an offer from the producers of the cult series "Dynasty".

She got an interesting image - Dominique Devereaux, the half-baked sister of Blake Carrington (actor D. Forsythe), the sworn enemy of the main character Alexis (played by Joanne Collins). After the premiere, the actress in an interview with the media stated that she was happy with her character and wanted to become the first black bitch on TV. Diane played a villain-intrigante in 72 episodes, also lit up in the spin-off "Dynasty 2: The Colby Family", which was destined to become short-lived.

Another "Emmy"

From 1989 to 1993, the actress starred in the sitcom "Another World", for which she received another nomination for "Emmy." Further, in the rental of films with Diane Carroll: "Lonely Dove", "Sunset Boulevard", "Eve's Lodge".

In the following time, Carroll again returned to the theatrical stage, appearing on TV screens periodically, for example, in the series "Strong Medicine", "Half and Half", "Food for the Soul" and "Anatomy of Passion". For the image embodied in the latter, she was again nominated for the Emmy. Recently, the actress appeared in separate episodes of the series "White Collar".

Personal life

Carroll was married four times, but the daughter has only from the first spouse. In the 60's, Diane and Sidney Poitier announced the engagement, but the wedding did not happen.

When Dian was 63 years old, doctors diagnosed her with a terrible diagnosis - breast cancer. The actress was initially caught by a serious ailment by surprise, but after she took herself in hand, agreed to an operation, after which 36 radiotherapy procedures were courageous. The course of treatment and rehabilitation ended successfully. After this test, the actress joined the ranks of activists in the fight against the disease.