Celebrity Graveland

July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019

Golden Globe and Tony winning actress, Diahann Carroll, likely didn’t intend to spend her career kicking down barriers, but that’s exactly what she did. Her 1962 Tony win for No Strings was the first time an African American actress had won the category. Her Golden Globe win in 1968 was for the title role in the television series, Julia, which was the first starring role for a black woman that was not a domestic worker or servant.

In 1963, Carroll received her first Emmy nomination (for Naked City) – again, one of the first for a black actress. And in 1996, she played the role of traditionally-white character, Norma Desmond, in a Toronto production of Sunset Boulevard.

And those are just the groundbreaking accolades.

Diahann Carroll was born in the Bronx, New York. She got her start by winning a televised talent competition at the age of 18. She was almost immediately discovered and was given a small role in the 1954 musical film, Carmen Jones, which was directed by Otto Preminger. Television and film roles poured in and by the time Julia hit the air, she had amassed dozens of credits to her name. In 1974, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role opposite James Earl Jones in Claudine.

Her later career saw starring or guest-starring roles on TV shows like Dynasty, A Different World and Grey’s Anatomy. She also did charitable work, co-founding the Celebrity Action Council alongside fellow stars, Mary Frann, Donna Mills and Linda Gray.

In her personal life, she was romantically linked to Sidney Poitier, singer Vic Damone and British TV host, David Frost. In 1997, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but overcame the disease. She died of natural causes in 2019 at the age of 84.

Burial

Woodlawn Cemetery – Bronx NY

Specific Location

Hillcrest Mausoleum II; On the southeast-facing side of the building, left section, 4th row up. Pretty much right in the middle of the section.

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