33 Facts About Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll was an American actress, singer, model, and activist.

Diahann Carroll received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her title role in the romantic comedy-drama film Claudine.

Diahann Carroll played the role of Dominique Deveraux, a mixed-race diva, in the prime time soap opera Dynasty from 1984 to 1987.

Diahann Carroll had roles in Naked City, A Different World, and Grey's Anatomy.

Diahann Carroll made her Broadway debut playing Ottilie Alias Violet in the musical House of Flowers.

Diahann Carroll became the first African-American woman to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Barbara Woodruff in the musical No Strings.

Diahann Carroll attended Music and Art High School, and was a classmate of Billy Dee Williams.

In many interviews about her childhood, Diahann Carroll recalls her parents' support, and their enrolling her in dance, singing, and modeling classes.

Diahann Carroll's film debut was a supporting role in Carmen Jones, as a friend to the sultry lead character played by Dorothy Dandridge.

Sands attempted to carry on with the role, but as filming began, she became too ill to continue and recommended her friend Diahann Carroll take over the role.

Diahann Carroll is known for her titular role in the television series Julia, which made her the first African-American actress in a television series starring role that was not of a domestic worker.

In 1984, Diahann Carroll joined the nighttime soap opera Dynasty at the end of its fourth season as the mixed-race jet set diva Dominique Deveraux, Blake Carrington's half-sister.

Diahann Carroll remained on the show and made several appearances on its short-lived spin-off, The Colbys until she departed at the end of the seventh season in 1987.

In 1991, Diahann Carroll portrayed Eleanor Potter, the doting, concerned, and protective wife of Jimmy Potter, in the musical drama film The Five Heartbeats, featuring actor and musician Robert Townsend and Michael Wright.

Diahann Carroll reunited with Billy Dee Williams again in 1995, portraying his character's wife Mrs Greyson in Lonesome Dove: The Series.

In 2001, Diahann Carroll made her animation debut in The Legend of Tarzan, in which she voiced Queen La, ruler of the ancient city of Opar.

In 2006, Diahann Carroll appeared in several episodes of the television medical drama Grey's Anatomy as Jane Burke, the demanding mother of Dr Preston Burke.

In 2010, Diahann Carroll was featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docudrama titled 1 a Minute, and appeared as Nana in two Lifetime movie adaptations of Patricia Cornwell novels: At Risk and The Front.

In 2013, Diahann Carroll was present on stage at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards to briefly speak about being the first African-American nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Diahann Carroll's father boycotted the ceremony for her first wedding in 1956, to record producer Monte Kay, which was presided over by Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

In 1959, Diahann Carroll began a nine-year affair with the married actor Sidney Poitier.

Diahann Carroll dated and was engaged to British television host and producer David Frost from 1970 until 1973.

Diahann Carroll filed a response, but did not contest the divorce, which was finalized two months later.

Diahann Carroll moved to Chicago where Jet was headquartered, but DeLeon soon quit his job so the couple relocated to Oakland.

Diahann Carroll was widowed when DeLeon was killed in a car crash in Beverly Hills on March 31,1977.

The union, which Diahann Carroll admitted was turbulent, had a legal separation in 1991, reconciliation, and divorce in 1996.

Diahann Carroll was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women's outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, working with women in rehabilitation from problems with alcohol, drugs, or prostitution.

Diahann Carroll helped to form the group along with other female television personalities including Mary Frann, Linda Gray, Donna Mills, and Joan Van Ark.

Diahann Carroll said the diagnosis "stunned" her, because there was no family history of breast cancer, and she had always led a healthy lifestyle.

Diahann Carroll underwent nine weeks of radiation therapy and had been clear for years after the diagnosis.

Diahann Carroll frequently spoke of the need for early detection and prevention of the disease.

Diahann Carroll died from natural causes at her home in West Hollywood, California, on October 4,2019, at the age of 84.

Diahann Carroll suffered from another form of cancer and dementia at the time of her death, which was unrelated, though actor Marc Copage, who played her character's son on Julia, said that she did not appear to show serious signs of cognitive decline as of late 2017.