Dorothy Dandridge was an actress, singer and dancer, born on November 9, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. Notable for her work in the 1945 film musical Carmen Jones, she became the first African American to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Dandridge continued to break barriers as the first Black woman featured on Life magazine’s cover, and the first Black performer to headline the Waldorf-Astoria’s prestigious Empire Room in 1955.

Dandridge was named a Great Ohioan in 2025. Photo Credit: public domain