DIAHANN CARROLL
By Lee Conell

Diahann Carroll, the Tony award winning actress and singer, and the first African American to star in her own television series, did not let the segregation around her dissolve her early dreams of stardom. When watching musicals, Carroll always saw herself as the leading lady. "I didn't care what color she was," Carroll said in an American Television interview. "I said that's what I should do. I should be the leading lady." And that's what Carroll went on to be, breaking ground not just with her 1968 sitcom Julia, about a nurse who is also a single mother, but also with her role as a businesswoman on the popular show Dynasty.

Born in the Bronx in 1935, Carroll was compelled to perform at a young age, and encouraged by her mother to follow her dreams. Her first role was at age 6, playing Jiminy Cricket in her school play. By age 10 she had won a scholarship to study at the Metropolitan Opera. Carroll attended Manhattan's Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts, and then decided to study sociology at New York University.

Being a performer, however, took precedence, and Carroll soon dropped out of NYU to concentrate on her career. The same year she dropped out of college, Carroll made her Broadway stage debut in House of Flowers, a production by Truman Capote, and also starred in Carmen, an all-black film adaptation of that opera. By 1962, she had won a Tony award for her role in No Strings. She racked up more awards when Julia gained Carroll a Golden Globe for best actress, and an Emmy nomination.

Carroll’s career has lasted more than 40 years. After her role on Dynasty, Carroll continued to act in movies and television, and in 1995 starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of Sunset Boulevard, playing aging former star Norma Desmond. She continues to take roles on television, most recently appearing as Jane Burke on Grey’s Anatomy. She has even stepped into the world of fashion: In 1997, Carroll became the first woman of color to launch her own clothing line.

While Carroll has achieved enormous success, she is not immune to misfortune. In 1998 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately the diagnosis came early on, and Carroll survived to become a breast cancer activist. "The simple truth is that regular screening saved my life — period," Carroll told USA Today. She has encouraged women to get screened early on, and has gone so far as to invite a camera crew into her treatment room, using her celebrity status to draw attention to a larger cause.

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