
Diahann Carroll
Acting
Diahann Carroll (born Carol Diahann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer and model. She rose to stardom in performances in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including Carmen Jones in 1954 and Porgy and Bess in 1959. In 1962, Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for a black woman, for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. Her 1968 debut in Julia, the first series on American television to star a black woman in a nonstereotypical role, was a milestone both in her career and the medium. In the 1980s she played the role of an interracial diva in the primetime soap opera Dynasty. Carroll was the recipient of numerous stage and screen nominations and awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress In A Television Series in 1968. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the 1974 film Claudine. She was also a breast cancer survivor and activist.
TV Shows(55)

White Collar
June
2009

Back to You
Sandra Jenkins
2007

Grey's Anatomy
Jane Burke
2005

Whoopi
Viveca Rae
2003

Half & Half
Grandma Ruth Thorne
2002

The Court
2002

The Legend of Tarzan
Queen La (voice)
2001

Strong Medicine
Eve Morton
2000

Soul Food
Aunt Ruthie
2000

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
Betty Hemings
2000

Twice in a Lifetime
Jael
1999

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Crow (voice)
1995

Touched by an Angel
Grace Willis
1994

Ellen
Diahann Carroll
1994

Burke's Law
Grace Gibson
1994

Intimate Portrait
Self
1993

A Different World
Marion Gilbert
1987

The Colbys
1985

Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
1983

Dynasty
Dominique Devereaux
1981

The Big Show
Self
1980

Roots: The Next Generations
Zeona Haley
1979

The Love Boat
Roxy Blue
1977

The Sonny and Cher Show
1976

Dinah!
Self
1974

The Julie Andrews Hour
Self
1972

Great Performances
Self
1971

The Flip Wilson Show
Self
1970

Julia
Julia Baker
1968

The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968

The Carol Burnett Show
Self
1967

ABC Stage 67
Self
1966
Not Only... But Also
Self
1964

The Hollywood Palace
Self
1964

The Judy Garland Show
Self
1963

The Danny Kaye Show
Self
1963

The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962

The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
1961

The Bell Telephone Hour
Self
1959

Naked City
Ruby Jay
1958

Peter Gunn
1958

DuPont Show of the Month
Self
1957
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self
1957

The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest
1956

Tony Awards
Self - Host
1956

The Wonderful World of Disney
Self
1954
Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
1953

The Oscars
Self
1953
Chance Of A Lifetime
1952

The Red Skelton Show
Self
1951

The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950

What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
1950

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948

Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
Movies(54)

Sidney
Self (archive footage)
2022

How It Feels to Be Free
Self (archival footage)
2021

The Masked Saint
Ms. Edna
2016

Light Girls
Self
2015

Peeples
Nana Peeples
2013

Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
Self
2013

Sing Your Song
Self
2012

The Front
Nana
2010

At Risk
Nana
2010

Diary of a Single Mom
Therapist
2009

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
(archive footage)
2004

NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
2002

Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story
Maria Cole
2000

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
Betty Hemings
2000

The Courage to Love
Pouponne
2000

Jackie's Back!
Diahann Carroll
1999

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Sadie Delany
1999

The Sweetest Gift
Mrs. Wilson
1998

Motown 40: The Music is Forever
Self
1998

Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
Self
1998

Eve's Bayou
Elzora
1997

Jirimpimbira: An African Folk Tale
Narrator
1995

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
Lydia Bishop
1994

Color Adjustment
Self
1992

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Vivian Thurlow (archive footage) (uncredited)
1991

Sunday in Paris
Vernetta Chase
1991

The Five Heartbeats
Eleanor Potter
1991

Murder in Black and White
Margo Stover
1990

From the Dead of Night
Maggie
1989

Joan Rivers and Friends Salute Heidi Abromowitz
Diahann Carroll
1988

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Self
1988

Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
Self
1986

The Best of Broadway
Herself
1985

Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985

Starfest: The Stars Salute Public Television 1983
1983

Sister, Sister
Carolyne Lovejoy
1982

Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Vivian
1979

The Star Wars Holiday Special
Mermeia
1978

The Beatles Forever
Self
1977

Telly... Who Loves Ya, Baby?
Self
1976

Death Scream
Betty May
1975

Claudine
Claudine Price
1974
One More Time
Self
1974

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
1970

The Dean Martin Christmas Show
Self (uncredited)
1968

Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing
Self - Singer
1968

The Split
Ellen "Ellie" Kennedy
1968

Hurry Sundown
Vivian Thurlow
1967

The Strolling '20s
Self
1966

Paris Blues
Connie Lampson
1961

Goodbye Again
Nightclub Singer
1961

Porgy and Bess
Clara
1959

Carmen Jones
Myrt
1954