Diahann Carroll

Acting

Diahann Carroll

Born 1935-07-17 · Bronx, New York, USA

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.

Acting credits

Jackie's Back! poster
6.9

A British documentarian profiles washed-up diva Jackie Washington as she prepares for her comeback concert.

Jackie's Back!

1999

Death Scream poster
6.6

Loosely based on the true story of the killing of Kitty Genovese: A young woman's murder is witnessed by fifteen of her neighbors who do nothing to help and refuse to cooperate with the police.

Death Scream

1975

The Star Wars Holiday Special poster
3.4

Luke Skywalker and Han Solo battle evil Imperial forces to help Chewbacca reach his imperiled family on the Wookiee planet - in time for Life Day, their most important day of the year!

The Star Wars Holiday Special

1978

Eve's Bayou poster
6.5

Summer heats up in rural Louisiana beside Eve’s Bayou, 1962, as the Batiste family tries to survive the secrets they’ve kept and the betrayals they’ve endured.

Eve's Bayou

1997

Sidney poster
7.0

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Sidney

2022

Paris Blues poster
6.5

During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls and must decide between music and love.

Paris Blues

1961

Carmen Jones poster
6.2

In this musical set in an all-Black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War.

Carmen Jones

1954

Porgy and Bess poster
6.3

In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.

Porgy and Bess

1959

Night of 100 Stars II poster
6.8

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.

Night of 100 Stars II

1985

Hurry Sundown poster
6.4

A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.

Hurry Sundown

1967

Goodbye Again poster
7.1

Middle-aged businesswoman Paula Tessier rejects the advances of her client's amusing 25-year-old son, Philip Van der Besh, but reconsiders when her longtime philandering partner begins yet another casual affair with a younger woman. She soon learns that May-December romances with older women are frowned upon in society.

Goodbye Again

1961

The Split poster
6.7

A group of thieves attempt a daring robbery of a football stadium.

The Split

1968

NBC 75th Anniversary Special poster
6.0

A celebration of NBC's 75 year history, featuring clips of special moments.

NBC 75th Anniversary Special

2002

The Five Heartbeats poster
7.3

In the early 1960s, a quintet of hopeful, young African-American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro, and rises to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry.

The Five Heartbeats

1991

Peeples poster
5.5

Hoping to propose to his upper-crust girlfriend, Wade Walker crashes her family's annual reunion and lands in a face-off with her dad.

Peeples

2013

Night of 100 Stars poster
5.8

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.

Night of 100 Stars

1982

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis poster
7.3

A presentation of key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, MLK is followed through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, it is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by a wide range of celebrities, including Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman Charlton Heston, Ruby Dee, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Walter Matthau, Ben Gazzara, Clarence Williams III, Joanne Woodward, and James Earl Jones.

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

1970

The Front poster
5.4

A detective uncovers a sinister conspiracy when he is sent to research a disintegrating neighborhood for a public relations campaign.

The Front

2010

The Masked Saint poster
5.6

The journey of a professional wrestler who becomes a small town pastor and moonlights as a masked vigilante fighting injustice. While facing crises at home and at the church, the Pastor must evade the police and somehow reconcile his violent secret identity with his calling as a pastor.

The Masked Saint

2016

Light Girls poster
10.0

From the creator and director of the critically acclaimed documentary Dark Girls, award-winning filmmaker Bill Duke continues the conversation on colorism with Light Girls. Sharing the untold stories and experiences of lighter-skinned women, Light Girls dives deep into the discussion of skin color, preference, privilege, pain and prejudice. The documentary features interviews with Russell Simmons, Soledad O'Brien, Diahann Carroll, India Arie, Iyanla Vanzant, Michaela Angela Davis, Kym Whitley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and more.

Light Girls

2015

Color Adjustment poster
6.9

From Amos 'n' Andy to Nat King Cole, from Roots to The Cosby Show, black people have played many roles on primetime television. Brilliantly weaving clips from classic TV shows with commentary from TV producers, black actors and scholars, Marlon Riggs blends humor, insight, and thoughtful analysis to explore the evolution of black/white relations as reflected by America's favorite addiction.

Color Adjustment

1992

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal poster
8.0

Epic television miniseries exploring the complicated relationship of Thomas Jefferson and slave Sally Hemings, who conducted a 38 year love affair, spanning an ocean, ultimately producing children, grandchildren, and lots of controversy.

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal

2000

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker poster
8.0

This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

1991

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC poster
6.0

Stars celebrate Bob Hope's 50 years with NBC.

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

1988