Today, the award-winning actress and activist Rudy Dee has died. She was 91. She died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday in her New Rochelle, New York home according to her rep Michael Livingston.
Born Ruby Ann Wallace in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, Ruby changed her last name to Dee after marrying singer Frankie Dee. After their short marriage she kept the last name of 'Dee' as part of her stage name.
The A Raisin In The Sun (1961) and American Gangster (2007) star won a range of awards from Grammy, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, Screen Actors Guild Award, and even Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Awards. Most recently, Broadway star Audra McDonald paid tribute to Dee when she accepted a Tony Award last Sunday, giving credit to Dee, Maya Angelou, Diahann Carroll and Billie Holiday for making her career possible. McDonald won a best actress Tony in 2004 for playing the same role Dee played on Broadway in 1959 and in the 1961 film version of A Raisin in the Sun.
Dee was known for her advocacy for civil rights, and along with her late husband Ossie Davis, were awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Freedom Award by the National Civil Rights Museum. She was also awarded with a honorary degree from Princeton University.
Mrs. Ruby Dee was a breast cancer survivor and member of several organizations including -- Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), NAACP, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was a leader, activist and pioneer who paved the way for many actresses and was inspiration to many.
She will be missed as the coveted screen and stage actress and her legacy will live on for many years to come.
Photo: Getty Images
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