alt	Head and shoulders shot of a smiling Berry facing the camera.
birth date	August 14, 1966
birth place	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
birth name	Maria Halle Berry
occupation	Actress
years active	1989–present
spouse
partner	Gabriel Aubry (2005–10)Olivier Martinez (2010–present)
children	Nahla Ariela Aubry }}

Halle Berry (; born August 14, 1966) is an American actress, a former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in ''Monster's Ball'', becoming the first and, as of 2011, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman. She has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant (1986), and coming in 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986. She made her film debut with a small role in 1991's ''Jungle Fever''. This led to starring roles in ''The Flintstones'' (1994), ''Bulworth'' (1998), ''X-Men'' (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in ''Die Another Day'' (2002). She also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 2005 for ''Catwoman'' and accepted the award in person—one of the few performers to do so.

Early life

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, though her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry in 1971. Berry's parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins), who is Caucasian, was a psychiatric nurse. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver. Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio. Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old; she and her older sister Heidi were raised exclusively by her mother. Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood, noting in 1992, "I haven't heard from him since [he left]. Maybe he's not alive."

Berry graduated from Bedford High School, afterward working in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges. She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.

Acting career

1989–2002

In the late 1980s, Berry went to Illinois to pursue a modeling career as well as acting. One of her first acting projects was a television series for local cable by Gordon Lake Productions called ''Chicago Force''. In 1989, Berry landed the role of Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series ''Living Dolls'' (a spin-off of ''Who's the Boss?''), during the taping of which she lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with diabetes. She went on to have a recurring role on the long-running primetime serial Knots Landing. In 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal single, "Honey Love".

Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's ''Jungle Fever'', in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. Her first co-starring role was in the 1991 film ''Strictly Business.'' In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy ''Boomerang.'' That same year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of ''Queen: The Story of an American Family'', based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was in the live-action ''Flintstones'' movie as "Sharon Stone", the sultry secretary who seduced Fred Flintstone.

Playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in ''Losing Isaiah'' (1995), Berry tackled a more serious role, starring opposite Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in ''Race the Sun'' (1996), which was based on a true story, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in ''Executive Decision''. Beginning in 1996, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.

In 1997, Halle starred alongside Natalie Deselle Reid in the comedy film, B*A*P*S. Although panned by critics, it showed Halle's acting versatility.In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in ''Bulworth'' as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic ''Why Do Fools Fall in Love''. In the 1999 HBO biopic ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'', she portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series ''X-Men'' (2000) and its sequels, ''X2: X-Men United'' (2003) and ''X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film ''Swordfish'', which featured her first nude scene. At first, she refused to be filmed topless in a sunbathing scene, but she changed her mind when Warner Brothers raised her fee substantially. The brief flash of her breasts added $500,000 to her fee. Berry considered these stories to be rumors and was quick to deny them. After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make ''Swordfish'' because her husband, Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.

In 2001, Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed murderer, in the film ''Monster's Ball''. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild best-actress prizes; in an interesting coincidence she became the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (earlier in her career she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American to be nominated for Best Actress). The NAACP issued the statement: "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing." Her role also generated controversy. Berry's graphic nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African-Americans. Many in the African-American community were critical of Berry for taking the part. Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again."

Berry asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Academy Award, and Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firm's chief, congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied, "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off in a rage. Her win at the Academy Awards led to two famous "Oscar moments." In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. She said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened." One year later, as she presented the Best Actor award, winner Adrien Brody ran on stage and, instead of giving her the standard peck on the cheek, planted a long kiss on Berry.

2002 – present

As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster ''Die Another Day'', Berry recreated a scene from ''Dr. No'', emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. Lindy Hemming, costume designer on "Die Another Day", had insisted that Berry wear a bikini and knife as an homage. Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy", "exciting", "sexy", "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar." The bikini scene was shot in Cadiz; the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels in between takes to avoid catching a chill. According to a ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time. Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation.

After Berry won the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give her more screentime for ''X2''.

In November 2003, she starred in the psychological thriller ''Gothika'' opposite Robert Downey Jr., during which she broke her arm in a scene with Downey, who twisted her arm too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks. It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad. Berry appeared in the Limp Bizkit music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named #1 in ''FHM'''s 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll. In 2004, Berry was voted fourth of Empire magazine's 100 sexiest film stars of all time poll.

Berry received $12.5 million for the title role in the film ''Catwoman'', a $100 million movie; it grossed $17 million on its first weekend. She was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005 for this role. She appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (making her the third person, and second actor, to ever do so) with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top". Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be here, winning a Razzie. It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner." The Fund for Animals praised Berry's compassion towards cats and for squelching rumors that she was keeping a Bengal tiger from the sets of Catwoman as a "pet."

Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC TV movie ''Their Eyes Were Watching God'' (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in a small community. She was nominated for an Emmy for this TV film. Meanwhile, she voiced the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature ''Robots'' (2005).

In 2006, Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Tea Leoni, and Daryl Hannah successfully fought the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu. Berry said, "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean." In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility. Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 ''Woman of The Year'' award.

Berry is involved in production of films and television. She served as executive producer on ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' in 1999, and ''Lackawanna Blues'' in 2005. Berry both produced and starred in the thriller ''Perfect Stranger'' with Bruce Willis and in ''Things We Lost in the Fire'' with Benicio del Toro. Berry then starred in the film ''Frankie and Alice'', in which she plays Frankie Murdoch, a young multiracial American women with dissociative identity disorder struggling against her alter personality to retain her true self. She was awarded the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and also was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.

Berry is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning $10 million per film. In July 2007, she topped ''In Touch'' magazine's list of the world's most fabulous 40-something celebrities. On April 3, 2007, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.

Berry has served for many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics and also as the face of Versace. The Coty Inc. fragrance company signed Berry to market her debut fragrance in March 2008. Berry was delighted, saying that she had created her own fragrances at home by mixing scents.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Berry has been married twice. Her first marriage was to former baseball player David Justice, shortly after midnight on January 1, 1993. The couple separated in 1996 and their divorce was finalized in 1997. Berry has stated publicly that she was so depressed after her breakup with Justice that she considered taking her own life, but she could not bear the thought of her mother finding her body.

Berry married Eric Benét in early 2001 on a beach in Santa Barbara. Berry credited Benét with support after she was involved in a February 2000 traffic collision, in which she left the scene of the accident. Some in the media complained that her misdemeanor hit and run charge was preferential treatment; she had also been the driver in an alleged hit and run incident three years earlier in which no charges were filed. The incident became fodder for comedians. Berry pled no contest, did community service, paid a fine and was placed on three years' probation. A civil lawsuit was settled out of court.

The couple separated in 2003. After the separation, Berry stated, "I want love, and I will find it, hopefully." While married to Benét, Berry adopted his daughter, India. The divorce was finalized in January 2005. Benét – who admitted to being unfaithful to Berry – married Prince's ex-wife, Manuela Testolini, on 31 July 2011.

In November 2005, Berry began dating French-Canadian supermodel Gabriel Aubry, nine years her junior. The couple met at a Versace photoshoot. After six months with Aubry, she stated in an interview, "I'm really happy in my personal life, which is a novelty to me. You know, I'm not the girl that has the best relationships."

At one point, Berry had indicated that she planned to adopt children, but her experience playing a mother in ''Things We Lost In The Fire'' opened her mind to the possibility of motherhood. After initially denying rumors, she confirmed in September 2007 that she was three months pregnant. Berry gave birth to a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry on March 16, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Nahla means "honeybee" in Arabic; Ariela is Hebrew for "lion for God". Berry hired security guards after receiving racist threats to her unborn baby from a stalker, who said her child will be "cut into hundreds of pieces".

At one time, Berry indicated that she did not intend to marry again, insisting the couple's life was already complete without the need for a marriage. She stated that she hoped to have a second child right away. Aubry told ''In Touch'' magazine, "I'd like Nahla to have a sibling in 2009."

On April 30, 2010, it was reported that Berry and Aubry had separated. Several days later, Berry's representative confirmed the relationship had ended, saying, "They have been split for some time, but remain friends and committed parents to their daughter." They worked out a financial and 50/50 custody deal with a family lawyer, but TMZ reported that it was not final. Aubry filed documents with the Los Angeles Superior Court on December 30, 2010, asking the court to formally recognize his paternity and grant a court order giving him and Berry joint legal and physical custody over their daughter. On January 31, 2011, Berry's representative told ''People'' that Berry had pulled out of the film ''New Year's Eve'' to make time for custody litigation because the actress "has serious concerns for her daughter's well-being while in the care of her father for any extended period of time and is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect her". The publicist claimed that Berry "has attempted to resolve these custody issues amicably with her daughter's father...directly, but given his lack of cooperation, Halle has no choice but to seek swift judicial intervention." The following day, Aubry responded by saying through his representative that he was "disappointed in Halle's decision to falsely malign him publicly and for her own purposes", calling himself "a caring father who shares custody of Nahla". Aubry further stated that "he refuses to be pulled into her dispute over a canceled film production" and "also refuses to air their issues in the press as he believes this may ultimately harm their daughter".

In the media

Berry has stated that the manner in which people have reacted to her because of her racial background is often the result of ignorance. Her own self-identification has been influenced by her mother. She is quoted as saying:

After having many talks with my mother about the issue, she reinforced what she had always taught me. She said that even though you are half black and half white, you will be discriminated against in this country as a black person. People will not know when they see you that you have a white mother unless you wear a sign on your forehead. And, even if they did, so many people believe that if you have an ounce of black blood in you then you are black. So, therefore, I decided to let folks categorize me however they needed to.

While taping the ''Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on October 19, 2007, Berry displayed a distorted image of her face, remarking: "Here's where I look like my Jewish cousin!" During the editing of the program, the comment was obscured by a laugh track. Berry later stated "What happened was I was backstage before the show and I have three girls who are Jewish who work for me. We were going through pictures to see which ones looked silly, and one of my Jewish friends said [of the big-nose picture], 'That could be your Jewish cousin!' And I guess it was fresh in my mind, and it just came out of my mouth. But I didn't mean to offend anybody. I didn't. I didn't mean any harm. – and after the show I realized it could be seen as offensive, so I asked Jay to take it out, and he did.'"

Berry took part in a nearly 2000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008, and said that she will "collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."

In October 2008, Berry was named Esquire Magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive", about which she stated "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it."

Filmography

Title	Year	Role	Notes
''Living Dolls''	1989	Emily Franklin	TV (canceled after 13 episodes)
! scope="row"	1991	Claire	TV series, episode: "Unforgettable"
''''	1991	Jaclyn	TV series, episode: "Love, Hillman-Style"
''They Came from Outer Space''	1991	Rene	TV series, episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
''Knots Landing''	1991	Debbie Porter	TV (cast member in 1991)
''Jungle Fever''	1991	Vivian
! scope="row"	1991	Natalie
''''	1991	Cory
! scope="row"	1992	Angela Lewis
''Alex Haley's Queen''	1993	Queen	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
''CB4''	1993	Herself	Cameo
''Father Hood''	1993	Kathleen Mercer
''''	1993	Autumn Haley
''''	1994	Sharon Stone
''Solomon & Sheba''	1995	Nikhaule/Queen Sheba	TV
''Losing Isaiah''	1995	Khaila Richards	Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
''Executive Decision''	1996	Jean
''Race the Sun''	1996	Miss Sandra Beecher
! scope="row"	1996		Cameo
''''	1996	Josie Potenza
''B*A*P*S''	1997	Nisi
''''	1998	Shelby Coles	TV
''Bulworth''	1998	Nina	Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
! scope="row"	1998	Zola Taylor
''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''	1999	Dorothy Dandridge	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a MovieGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
! scope="row"	2000
''Welcome to Hollywood''	2000		Documentary
! scope="row"	2001	Ginger Knowles	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
''Monster's Ball''	2001	Leticia Musgrove
''Die Another Day''	2002	Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson
! scope="row"	2003	Ororo Munroe/Storm
''Gothika''	2003	Miranda Grey	Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actress – Drama/Action AdventureNominated – Black Reel Award for Best ActressNominated – Kids Choice Award for Favorite ActressNominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureNominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Female
! scope="row"	2004			2005	Janie Starks	Nominated—[[Black Reel Award for Best Actress: T.V. Movie/Cable">Golden Raspberry Award
! scope="row"	2005	Janie Starks	Nominated—[[Black Reel Award for Best Actress: T.V. Movie/CableNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
! scope="row"	2005		(Voice)
''X-Men: The Last Stand''	2006	Ororo Munroe/Storm
! scope="row"	2007	Rowena Price
! scope="row"	2007	Audrey Burke
''Frankie and Alice''	2010	Frankie/Alice	African-American Film Critics Association for Best ActressNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion PicturePRISM Award for Best Performance in a Feature FilmNominated—BET Award for Best ActressNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
''Dark Tide''	2011	Kate Mathieson
! scope="row"	2011		filming
''Movie 43''	2012		filming

Awards

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Film	! Result
1995	NAACP Image Awards		''Alex Haley's Queen''
2000	Primetime Emmy Award		''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''
2000	Golden Globe Award		''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''
2000	Screen Actors Guild Awards		''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''
2000	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series	''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''
2000	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge''
2001	Academy Award		''Monster's Ball''
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards		''Monster's Ball''
2001	British Academy of Film and Television Arts	Best Lead Actress	''Monster's Ball''
2001	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama	''Monster's Ball''
2001			''Monster's Ball''
2002	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress	''Monster's Ball''
2002	NAACP Image Award	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
2002	BET Awards	Best Actress
2002	Women in Film Los Angeles			Recipient
2003	BET Awards	Best Actress
2003	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress	''[[Die Another Day''
2004	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress	''Gothika''
2004	BET Awards	Best Actress
2004	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Actress
2005	BET Awards	Best Actress
2005	Primetime Emmy Award
2006	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress – TV series	''Their Eyes Were Watching God''
2006	Golden Globe Awards		''Their Eyes Were Watching God''
2007	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Action Hero	''X-Men: The Last Stand''
2008	BET Awards	Best Actress
2009	Spike Guys' Choice Awards	Decade of Hotness Award
2011	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama	''Frankie and Alice''
2011	NAACP Image Awards	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	''Frankie and Alice''

References

Further reading

Banting, Erinn. ''Halle Berry'', Weigl Publishers, 2005 – ISBN 1-59036-333-7

Gogerly, Liz. ''Halle Berry'', Raintree, 2005 – ISBN 1-4109-1085-7

Naden, Corinne J. ''Halle Berry'', Sagebrush Education Resources, 2001 – ISBN 0-613-86157-4

O'Brien, Daniel. ''Halle Berry'', Reynolds & Hearn, 2003 – ISBN 1-903111-38-2

Sanello, Frank. ''Halle Berry: A Stormy Life'', Virgin Books, 2003 – ISBN 1-85227-092-6

Schuman, Michael A. ''Halle Berry: Beauty Is Not Just Physical'', Enslow, 2006 – ISBN 0-7660-2467-9

External links

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Actors from Ohio Category:African American film actors Category:African American television actors Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American television actors Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Miss USA 1986 delegates Category:Miss World 1986 delegates Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners

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name	Dorothy Dandridge
birth name	Dorothy Jean Dandridge
birth date	November 09, 1922
birth place	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
death date
death place	West Hollywood, California, U.S.
other names	Dorothy Dandridge-NicholasDorothy NicholasDorothy Dandridge-DenisonDorothy Denison
children	Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas
death cause	Drug overdose
years active	1934–61
occupation	Actress, singer
spouse	}}

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.She performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Nathan Featherston and the Apollo Theater.

After several minor bit parts in films, Dandridge, landed her first noted film role in ''Tarzan's Peril'', in 1951; starring Lex Barker. Dandridge won her first starring role in 1953; playing a teacher in the nearly all-black cast low-budgeted film, ''Bright Road'', realesed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

In 1954, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for ''Carmen Jones'', and, in 1959, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for ''Porgy and Bess''. In 1999, she was the subject of the HBO biopic ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'', starring, Halle Berry as Dandridge. She has been recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Dandridge was married and divorced twice, first to dancer and entertainer Harold Nicholas (the father of her daughter, Harolyn Suzanne) and then to Jack Denison. Dandridge died of an accidental drug overdose at age 42.

Early life

Dorothy Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cyril Dandridge (October 25, 1895 – July 9, 1989), a cabinetmaker and minister, and to Ruby Dandridge (née Butler), an aspiring entertainer. Dandridge's parents separated shortly before her birth. Ruby Dandridge soon created an act for her two young daughters, Vivian and Dorothy, under the name of "The Wonder Children." The daughters toured the Southern United States for five years while Ruby worked and performed in Cleveland. During this time, they toured almost non-stop and rarely attended school.

At the onset of the Great Depression, work virtually dried up for the Dandridges, as it did for many of the Chitlin' circuit performers. Ruby Dandridge moved to Hollywood, California, where she found steady work on radio and film in small parts as a domestic servant. "The Wonder Kids" were renamed "The Dandridge Sisters" and booked into such venues as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City.

Career

Early career

Dandridge's first screen appearance was a bit part in a 1935 Our Gang comedy, ''Teacher's Beau''. In 1937, she appeared as one of the many singers in the Marx Brothers feature film, ''A Day at the Races''. The following year Dandridge, her sister Vivian, and Etta Jones would make a brief appearance in ''Going Places''. In 1940, Dandridge played a murderer in the race film, ''Four Shall Die''. This film provided Dandridge with her first credited film role as Helen Fielding. Though the part was a supporting role and the film was somewhat of a success, Dandridge struggled to find good film roles.

The following year, Dandridge was cast opposite John Wayne in ''Lady From Louisiana'' (1941), playing the small part of Felice. That same year she teamed with her future husband Harold Nicholas to film a brief role in ''Sun Valley Serenade''. Dandridge, Nicholas, and Nicholas's brother Fayard Nicholas, appeared in a part described as "speciality act". In 1942, Dandridge won another supporting role as Princess Malimi in ''Drums of the Congo''. In her next few films she would play mainly in bit parts, but she managed to get a small and yet good role in ''Hit Parade of 1943'' (1943). In 1944, Dandridge would play two uncredited roles in ''Since You Went Away'' and ''Atlantic City''. In the following year of 1945, she would play again a small role in the musical ''Pillow to Post''. Two years later she appeared in a tiny role in ''Ebony Parade'', (1947). By the later months 1947, Dandridge's luck for winning small roles in films had disappeared. She would only rarely appear in nightclubs and wouldn't make any films.

In 1951, Dandridge was cast as Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba in her comeback film, ''Tarzan's Peril'', starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Virginia Huston as Jane. Dandridge's role was somewhat minor, but she would be noticed by many. One night while at a party, she was introduced to music manager, Earl Mills. Mills had agreed to get Dandridge a career started as a singer. However, Dandridge didn't want to continue her singing career and instead wanted to focus on the motion picture industry. Even though Mills and Dandridge disagreed on how her career should be, Dandridge signed Mills as her agent. She would next appear as Ann Carpenter in ''The Harlem Globetrotters'' (1951). In this film Dandridge really only makes a co-starring appearance, but receives second billing.

It was after the release of ''The Harlem Globetrotters'', that Dandridge's film career stalled again. Mills then arranged for Dandridge to make her first appearance at the Mocambo. She continued to perform in nightclubs around the country, through most of 1952.

''Bright Road''

In December 1952, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio agent noticed Dandridge performing in the Mocambo, and cast her in the lead role in ''Bright Road'', co-starring Philip Hepburn and Harry Belafonte. ''Bright Road'' proved to be Dorothy's first starring role as Jane Richards.

The film tells the story of how a teacher reaches out to a troubled student during his time of need. The film contains nearly an all-black cast: a few minor white characters are seen. ''Bright Road'' became a box-office flop, but Dandridge was at the top of her game as a nightclub performer.

''Bright Road'' was to showcase Dandridge as a serious leading actress, but the film's terrible reception didn't help matters of her being taken seriously; it hurt them more than she knew. The feature was named: "The lowest box-office gross of the South".

After ''Bright Road'', Dandridge would start performing again in nightclubs; and, eventually she won a supporting role as herself in the musical-drama film, ''Remains to Be Seen''.

''Carmen Jones''

In 1954, Dandridge signed a three movie deal with 20th Century Fox. Soon after director and writer Otto Preminger cast Dandridge along with Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Madame Sul-Te-Wan (uncredited), Olga James, and Joe Adams, in his all-black production of ''Carmen Jones''. However, Dandridge's singing voice was dubbed by opera singer Marilyn Horne.

Upon release in 1954, ''Carmen Jones'' grossed $60,000 during its first week and $47,000 in its second week. The film received favorable reviews, and Dandridge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming only the third African American to receive a nomination in any Academy Award category (after Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters) but the first African-American to be nominated for best actress. Grace Kelly won the award for her performance in ''The Country Girl''. At the awards ceremony, Dandridge presented the Academy Award for Film Editing to Gene Milford for ''On the Waterfront''.

In 1955, 20th Century Fox selected Dandridge to play the supporting role of Tuptim in the film version of the Broadway hit, ''The King and I'', starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. The character was a slave, which made Dorothy decline the offer. After some convincing from Fox chief, Darryl F. Zanuck, that the role was a good one, Dandridge agreed to take the part. Otto Preminger, however, told her the role was too small, and that she would be better off to wait for a leading role in a big-budget motion picture: Dandridge would again declien the role of Tuptim.

A few months before the offer of ''The King and I'', Dandridge was asked to play Sandra Roberts in ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' a romantic-comedy film, starring Tom Ewell and Sheree North. She turned this role down for the same reasons that she would turn down ''The King and I'', in future months. If Dandridge would have agreed to make ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'', her character would have been a parody of Marilyn Monroe's character in Fox's ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1955). Dorothy was a fan of parodies, which was another reason she turned the part down. Not making these two films started the slow decline of Dandridge's film career.

Career falter

By 1956, still under contract to Fox, Dandridge hadn't made any films since ''Carmen Jones''. Fox still believed that Dandridge was a star, but just didn't know how to promote her. One of the head chiefs at Fox once said "She's a star, but we don't have any films to put her in or leading men to cast her opposite." In 1957, Dandridge's luck came back when Darryl F. Zanuck cast Dandridge as Margot, a restless young West Indian woman, in his controversial film version of ''Island in the Sun'', co-starring James Mason, Harry Belafonte, Joan Fontaine, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie, John Justin, John Williams, and Stephen Boyd. This film was a success, which brought Dandridge back to the public eye.

Though ''Island in the Sun'' was a major success, Dandridge didn't get another film until she was cast in the low-budget foreign Italian production ''Tamango'', which teamed her with Curd Jürgens. The film received fair reviews, but failed to succeed at the box-office. Dandridge believed that the film failed because she played a slave, a part she had vowed she'd never play. ''Tamango'' was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1957 and was legally released on January 24, 1958 in France. ''Tamango'' wouldn't be released in the United States until September 16, 1959.

In 1958, soon after the French release of ''Tamango'', Dandridge lined up a co-starring role in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's off-beat thriller ''The Decks Ran Red''. The film starred Dandridge's former ''Island in the Sun'' (1957) co-star, James Mason. ''The Decks Ran Red'' film was released with high hopes, but, drew minor box-office success; today the film is considered a "cult classic" Dorothy Dandridge film.

''Porgy and Bess''

Determined to reinvent her career, Dorothy decided to wait on a good film role. In 1959, Columbia Pictures cast Dandridge in the lead role of Bess in ''Porgy and Bess''; Dandridge was again nominated for an award, this time for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, for her performance in ''Porgy and Bess''. Dandridge once again lost the award.

Despite high-notices, ''Porgy and Bess'', was a box-office failure. The film's characters were described by several African-Americans as "stereotypical". The character of "Bess" was a drug addict; the image of "Porgy" was a crippled drunk; the character of "Suportin' Life" was another drug addict; and, the image of "Crown" was a rapist, who rapes Bess. These personas were what several people believed African-Americans were, which angered some African-Americans.

The actor who got most blame for the failure of ''Porgy and Bess'', was Dorothy; fore, several African-American actresses and actors looked up to Dandridge, as she proved an African-American woman could do what a white woman or man could do. But, many thought Dandridge was "selling out" when she accepted ''Porgy and Bess''; though some remained by her side when she was bad-mouthed (by some points of the press) for her "uncreditable" performance.

A few weeks later the giant box-office disappoinment of ''Porgy and Bess'', Dandridge was released from her 20th Century Fox contract. And though she had been with Fox for about five and a half years, she had only made two films (her contract stated she was committed to making three, however, Fox failed to find enough viable opportunities for Dandridge), that were released by them: ''Carmen Jones'' (1954), and ''Island in the Sun'' (1957).

Final workings

In 1959, after the bombed success of ''Porgy and Bess'', Dandridge managed to get the lead role as a European girl with an Italian name (Gianna) in ''Malaga'', another low-budget forgettable film that was filmed in Europe and came and vanished quickly. ''Malaga'', proved to be Dandridge's final theatrical film. The feature was filmed in late 1959, under the original title ''Moment of Danger'', but, wasn't legally released to U.S. theaters until 1962.

She made her last acting appearance the next year in the television movie, ''The Murder Men''. Dandridge played the lead as Norma Sherman. A reporter called Dorothy's performance in the film: "Her most interesting 'later' film role." The film was later showed in a episode of ''Cain's Hundred'', which was entitled ''Blues for a Junkman''; with all the actors receiving "archive footage" crediting.

By the end of 1961 Dandridge's job offers (of any kind) had disappeared, and, for the rest of her life would never recover.

Recordings

Dandridge first gained fame as a solo artist from her performances in nightclubs, usually accompanied by Phil Moore on piano. As well-known as she became from renditions of songs such as "Blow Out the Candle", "You Do Something To Me", and "Talk Sweet Talk To Me", she recorded very little on vinyl. Whether it was because of personal choice or lack of opportunity is unknown.

In 1940, as part of the Dandridge Sisters singing group, Dandridge recorded four songs with the Jimmy Lunceford band:

"You Ain't Nowhere" (Columbia #28007)

"That's Your Red Wagon" (Columbia #28006)

"Ain't Going To Go To Study War No More" (Columbia #26938)

"Minnie The Moocher is Dead" (Columbia #26937A)

In 1944, she recorded a duet with Louis Armstrong from the film ''Pillow to Post'':

"Watcha Say" (Decca L-3502)

In 1951, she recorded a single for Columbia Records:

"Blow Out the Candle/Talk Sweet Talk To Me" (catalogue # unknown)

In 1953, she recorded a song for the film ''Remains to Be Seen'':

"Taking a Chance On Love" (MGM Records, catalogue # unknown)

In 1958, she recorded a full length album for Verve Records featuring Oscar Peterson with Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and Alvin Stoller (Catalogue #314 547-514 2) that remained unreleased in the vaults until a cd release in 1999. This cd also included 4 tracks from 1961 (with an unknown orchestra) that included one 45 rpm record single and another aborted single:

"It's Easy To Remember" (21942-3)

"What Is There To Say" (21943-6)

"That Old Feeling" (21944-4)

"The Touch Of Your Lips" (21945-12)

"When Your Lover Has Gone" (21946-1)

"The Nearness Of You" (21947-7)

"(In This World) I'm Glad There Is You" (21948-10)

"I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face" (21949-4)

"Body And Soul" (21950-2)

"How Long Has This Been Going On?" (21951-6)

"I've Got A Crush On You" (21952-3)

"I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (21953-3)

"Somebody" (recorded in 1961) (23459-2)

"Stay with It" (recorded in 1961) (23460-4)

(above two tracks released on Verve Records single #Verve V 10231)

"It's a Beautiful Evening" (recorded in 1961) (23461-5)

"Smooth Operator" (recorded in 1961) (23462-2)

(above two tracks were aborted for release as a single and remained unreleased until the "Smooth Operator" cd release in 1999). These represent the only known songs Dandridge recorded on vinyl. Several songs she sang were recorded on Soundies. These songs, which include her version of "Cow Cow Boogie", are not included on this list.

Personal life

Dandridge married dancer and entertainer Harold Nicholas on September 6, 1942, and gave birth to her only child, Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas, on September 2, 1943. Harolyn was born brain-damaged, and the couple divorced in October 1951.

Dandridge married Jack Denison on June 22, 1959, although the pair divorced amid allegations of domestic violence and financial setbacks. At this time, Dandridge discovered that the people who were handling her finances had swindled her out of $150,000, and that she was $139,000 in debt for back taxes. Forced to sell her Hollywood home and to place her daughter in a state mental institution in Camarillo, California, Dandridge moved into a small apartment at 8495 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood, California. Alone and without any acting roles or singing engagements on the horizon, Dandridge suffered a nervous breakdown. Shortly thereafter, Earl Mills started arranging her comeback. The comeback never came to fruition because she died in the early planning stages.

Death

On September 8, 1965, Dandridge spoke by telephone with friend and former sister-in-law Geraldine "Geri" Branton. Dandridge was scheduled to fly to New York the next day to prepare for her nightclub engagement at Basin Street East. Several hours after her conversation with Branton ended, Dandridge was found dead by her manager, Earl Mills. Two months later, a Los Angeles pathology institute determined the cause to be an accidental overdose of Imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. An alternative source reported, however, that the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office came to a different conclusion, that: “Miss Dandridge died of a rare embolism—blockage of the blood passages at the lungs and brain by tiny pieces of fat flaking off from bone marrow in a fractured right foot she sustained in a Hollywood film five days before she died.” She was 42 years old.

On September 12, 1965, a private funeral service was held for Dandridge at the Little Chapel of the Flowers; she was then cremated and her ashes interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Legacy

Many years passed before the entertainment industry acknowledged Dandridge's legacy. Starting in the 1980s, stars such as Cicely Tyson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett acknowledged Dandridge's contributions to the role of blacks in film.

In 1999, Halle Berry took the lead role of Dandridge in the HBO Movie ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'', which she produced and won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. When Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in ''Monster's Ball'', she dedicated the "moment [to] Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll."

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Dorothy Dandridge has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 671 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

! Year	! Film title	! Role	! Director	! Notes
	''Teacher's Beau''	Dorothy	Gus Meins
	''The Big Broadcast of 1936''	Member of the Dandridge Sisters	Norman Taurog
	''Easy to Take''	Member of the Dandridge Sisters	Glenn Tyron	Uncredited
1937	''It Can't Last Forever''	Dandridge Sisters Act	Hamilton MacFadden	Uncredited
1937		Black Singer	Sam Wood	Uncredited
	''Going Places''	Member of the Dandridge Sisters	Ray Enright	Uncredited
1938	''Snow Gets in Your Eyes''	One of the Dandridge Sisters	Will Jason
		The Dandridge Sisters	Herbert Wilcox	Uncredited
1940	''Four Shall Die''	Helen Fielding	William Beaudine	Aka: ''Condemned Men''
	''Bahama Passage''	Thalia	Edward H. Griffith
1941		Kipsang's Bride	Henry Hathaway
1941	''Sun Valley Serenade''	Specialty Act	H. Bruce Humberstone
1941	''Lady from Louisiana''	Felice	Bernard Vorhaus	Aka: ''The Lady from New Orleans''
	''Lucky Jordan''	Hollyhock School Maid	Frank Tuttle	Uncredited
1942	''Night in New Orleans''	Sal, Shadrach's Girl	William Clemens	Uncredited
1942	''The Night Before the Divorce''	Maid	Robert Siodmak	Uncredited
1942	''Ride 'Em Cowboy''	Dancer	Arthur Lubin	Uncredited
1942	''Drums of the Congo''	Princess Malimi	Christy Cabanne
1942	''Orchestra Wives''	Unknown	Archie Mayo	Uncredited
	''Hit Parade of 1943''	Count Basie Band Singer	Albert S. Rogell	Aka: ''Change of Heart''
1943	''Happy Go Lucky''	Showgirl	Curtis Bernhardt	Uncredited
	''Since You Went Away''	Black Officer's Wife in Train Station	John Cromwell	Uncredited
1944	''Atlantic City''	Singer	Ray McCarey	Uncredited
	''Pillow to Post''	Herself-Vocalist	Vincent Sherman	Uncredited
	''Ebony Parade''	Herself-Vocalist	Count Basie	Uncredited
	''Tarzan's Peril''	Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba	Byron Haskin
1951	''The Harlem Globetrotters''	Ann Carpenter	Phil Brown
	''Bright Road''	Jane Richards	Gerald Mayer	First starring role
1953	''Remains to Be Seen''	Herself-Vocalist	Don Weis
		Carmen Jones	Otto Preminger	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
		Margot Seaton	Robert Rossen
	''Tamango''	Aiché, Reiker's mistress	John Berry
1958	''The Decks Ran Red''	Mahia	Andrew L. Stone
		Bess	Otto Preminger	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
		Gianna	Laslo Benedek	Aka: ''Moment of Dandger''. Final theatrical film appearance

Television appearances

''As an Actress''

! Year	! Television program	! Role	! Director	! Notes
1961		Norma Sherman	John Peyser	Television movie
1962	''Cain's Hundred''	Norma Sherman	Robert Gist	1 episode: ''Blues for a Junkman''

''As Herself''

''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1952 - 1 episode)

''Songs for Sale'' (1952 - 1 episode)

''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' (1951-1953 - 2 episodes)

''The George Jessel Show'' (1954 - 1 episode)

''Light's Diamond Jubilee'' (1954 - TV documenatary)

''The 27th Annual Academy Awards'' (1955 - TV special; Nominee & Presenter)

''Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' (1956 - 1 episode)

''Ford Star Jubilee'' (1956 - 1 episode)

''The 29th Annual Academy Awards'' (1957 - TV special; Performer & Presenter)

''The Ed Sullivan Show'' (1952-1961 - 7 episodes)

''Juxe Box Jury'' (1964 - 1 episode)

Stage Work

''Swingin' the Dream'' (November 29–December 9, 1939, Broadway)

''Meet the People'' (1941, replacement for Virginia O'Brien - Los Angeles)

''Jump for Joy'' (1941–1942, Los Angeles)

''Sweet 'n' Hot'' (1944, Los Angeles)

''Crazy Girls'' (1952, Off-Broadway)

''West Side Story'' (1962)

''Show Boat'' (1965)

See also

Footnotes

References

Dandridge, Dorothy & Conrad, Earl. ''Everything and Nothing: The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy''. Abelard-Schuman; 1st edition (1970). ISBN 0200716905. HarperCollins, New Ed edition (2000). - ISBN 0-060-95675-5.

Mills, Earl. ''Dorothy Dandridge: An Intimate Portrait of Hollywood's First Major Black Film Star''. Holloway House Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-870-67899-X.

Rippy, Marguerite H. (2001). "Commodity, Tragedy, Desire - Female Sexuality and Blackness in the Iconography of Dorothy Dandridge". ''Classic Hollywood, classic whiteness'' (Chapter 9). Daniel Bernardi, Editor. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 1234567890. Retrieved February 4, 2011.

External links

Dorothy Dandridge biography & photos

Photographs and literature

Category:Accidental deaths in California Category:Actors from Ohio Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American female singers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:English-language singers Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:1922 births Category:1965 deaths Category:Our Gang

bg:Дороти Дендридж ca:Dorothy Dandridge de:Dorothy Dandridge es:Dorothy Dandridge fr:Dorothy Dandridge id:Dorothy Dandridge it:Dorothy Dandridge nl:Dorothy Dandridge ja:ドロシー・ダンドリッジ no:Dorothy Dandridge pl:Dorothy Dandridge pt:Dorothy Dandridge ru:Дэндридж, Дороти sr:Дороти Дандриџ sh:Dorothy Dandridge fi:Dorothy Dandridge sv:Dorothy Dandridge tl:Dorothy Dandridge th:โดโรธี แดนดริดจ์ tr:Dorothy Dandridge uk:Дороті Дандрідж zh:桃乐茜·丹缀之

name	Gabriel Aubry
birth date	January 04, 1976
birth place	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
height
weight
measurements	Chest: Waist: Hips:
inseam	32.5 / 82.5 cm
haircolor	Blonde
eyecolor	Green
children	Nahla Ariela Aubry (March 16, 2008) }}

Gabriel Aubry (born January 4, 1976) is a Canadian male model.

Early life

Born in Montreal, Quebec to French-Canadian parents, Gabriel is one of nine siblings.

Modeling career

He has modeled for Tommy Hilfiger, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Valentino, Trussardi, Nautica, Exte, Joop, Massimo Dutti and Next. He is signed to Wilhelmina Models in New York City and Beatrice Model agency in Milan, Italy.

He appeared in a Macy's commercial in early 2008 as part of an exclusivity with Calvin Klein alongside Mariah Carey, Martha Stewart, Donald Trump and Carlos Santana. He was the only male model to ever appear on the cover of L'Uomo Vogue while appearing in four different designers' campaigns at the same time, in the same magazine. Aubry has been listed on People Magazine's 'Most Beautiful People' List.

Personal life

He owned a restaurant in Manhattan, New York City, Cafe Fuego, in the East Village on trendy St. Mark's Place. In 2008, he released an album ''Cafe Fuego Vol. 1'' , which he produced. He plays guitar on some of the tracks. The album was created to reflect the ambiance of the restaurant and has been described as "a delicate fusion of soulful sounds, highlighted with a world music flair, bossa-nova grooves and inspired by Latin and Cuban roots."

Aubry is an avid golfer and takes part in various celebrity tournaments from time to time. He plays using Callaway clubs and is a single-handicap golfer.

His former girlfriend, Halle Berry gave birth to their daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, on March 16, 2008 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. On the 30th April 2010, Aubry split with Berry, one source saying that Aubry felt it just was not working any longer. It was later confirmed by Aubry that the couple have split due to the fact they spend too much time apart.

In December 2010, Aubry petitioned a U.S. court to establish his paternity and legal shared custody of their daughter.

References

Category:1976 births Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian male models Category:French Quebecers Category:Living people Category:People from Montreal

fr:Gabriel Aubry pl:Gabriel Aubry

name	Tavis Smiley
birthname	Tavis Smiley
birth date	September 13, 1964
birth place	Gulfport, MississippiUnited States
age	46
education	Indiana University (B.A., public affairs, 2003)
occupation	Talk show host Author Entrepreneur Advocate Philanthropist
ethnicity	African-American
religion	Christian
credits	''Tavis Smiley'' host (2004–present)''The Tavis Smiley Show'' from PRI (radio) host(2005-present)"Smiley & West" co-host (2010-present)''BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley'' host (1996–2001)
url	http://www.tavistalks.com/ }}

Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991, and starting in 1996 he hosted the talk show ''BET Talk'' (later renamed ''BET Tonight'') on BET. Controversially, after Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew Smiley's contract that year. Smiley then began hosting ''The Tavis Smiley Show'' on NPR from 2002 to 2004 and currently hosts ''Tavis Smiley'' on PBS on the weekdays and "The Tavis Smiley Show" from PRI. Most recently, he and close friend Dr. Cornel West have joined forces for their own radio talk show, "Smiley & West". They were featured together interviewing musician Bill Withers in the 2009 documentary film ''Still Bill''.

Early years

Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts, a single mother who first became pregnant at age 18. On September 13, 1966, just shy of his second birthday, his mother married Emory Garnell Smiley, a non-commisioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. It would not be until a few years later that Tavis would learn the identity of his biological father, whom he identifies in his autobiography, ''What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America'' only as "T."

His family soon moved to Indiana because his stepfather had been transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana. Upon arriving in Indiana, the Smiley family took up residence in a crowded mobile home in the small town of Bunker Hill, Indiana. Smiley's immediate family size was increased following the homicide of his aunt, whose death left five children with no stable home. Smiley's parents agreed to take in and raise their five orphaned nieces and nephews. Joyce and her husband also had eight children of their own over the years, resulting at one point in 13 children and Mr. and Mrs. Smiley all living in the trailer-home. Smiley's mother was a very religious person, and the family attended the local New Bethel Tabernacle Church, part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The Smiley children were forbidden from listening to secular music at home and going to the movie theater and could watch television shows that their parents felt were family-friendly. When Tavis Smiley was in seventh grade, New Bethel pastor Elder Rufus Mills accused Tavis and his siblings of "running wild, disobeying their teacher, disrespecting their teacher, disrespecting the sanctity of this building, and mocking the holy message being taught" during Sunday School. According to Smiley's account of the incident, Smiley's Sunday School teacher became more confused as she was asking questions about the Book of John, and while other students "responded by giggling and acting a little unruly," he and his sister Phyllis "remained quiet". Garnell whipped Tavis and Phyllis with an extension cord, wounding the two children. The next day at school, administrators found out about the children's injuries. The local newspaper in Kokomo reported on the beating and the legal proceedings against Garnell, and Tavis and Phyllis were sent to foster care temporarily, Garnell told his children that the judge decided that he had "overreacted" and found he and Joyce as "concerned parents who were completely involved in our children's lives and well-being".

Smiley became interested in politics at age 13 after attending a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh. At Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, Indiana, a school that Smiley described as "98 percent white", Smiley was active in student council and the debate team, even though his parents were "skeptical of all non-church extracurricular activities."

College and political career

In 1982, Smiley enrolled in Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because Smiley's parents refused to complete financial aid papers, Smiley entered Indiana University with only $50 and a small suitcase. Administrators let Smiley complete the paperwork to become a full-time student. The summer after his freshman year, Smiley worked, attended summer classes, and lived off campus with Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players, then being coached by Bobby Knight. Smiley was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his sophomore year and became business manager of his dormitory, a member of the student senate, and director of minority affairs. After his friend Denver Smith was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense, Smiley helped lead protests to defend Smith, whom he believed had been wrongfully killed. Those protests led Smiley to a work-study internship at the office of Bloomington mayor Tomilea Allison. Being paid $5 an hour, Smiley wrote letters to local residents, researched for Mayor Allison, and helped write positions on local issues. Mayor Allison rebuked Smiley for padding his time sheets and had Smiley work off the extra hours without pay. During his first semester of junior year, Smiley was under academic probation and blamed his extracurricular activities for interfering with his studies. When Smiley visited Los Angeles to attend a national student leaders' convention, the cousin of his roommate introduced Smiley to football star Jim Brown. Brown introduced Smiley to fellow football player George Hughley, who worked for Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and connected Smiley to Mayor Bradley's staff. Every week since meeting Bradley's staff, Smiley wrote a letter to the mayor's office asking for an internship and once personally flew to Los Angeles to appeal. However, by summertime he received a letter from the city stating that all internship positions were filled. Smiley then handwrote a letter to the mayor that he said represented his feeling "from the heart", and Bradley called Smiley to say that he had a position available for Smiley. As the internship was unpaid but counted for college credit, the Bloomington Community Progress Council funded Smiley with $5,000 for living expenses in Los Angeles, and Brown allowed Smiley to live as a houseguest during September 1985. Starting the next month, Smiley lived in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house in the University of Southern California. At City Hall, Smiley worked at the Office of Youth Development on the 22nd floor.

Twice, Smiley considered quitting college, first during junior year, and then after finishing his internship with Mayor Bradley. Bradley successfully convinced Smiley to return to college, and Smiley did. Smiley took the LSAT twice, as he was considering attending Harvard Law School. However, in his senior year, he failed a test in a computer class after being accused of copying another student's, so he failed that class and several others and lacked nine hours of credits and thus did not graduate from IU. Following a hiring freeze by the government of Los Angeles, Smiley served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990. A 1988 article in the ''Los Angeles Times'' identified Smiley as "a Bradley administrative assistant who works in South Los Angeles." In 2003, Smiley officially received his degree from Indiana University in public affairs.

Radio and television career

Campaigning for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991 against incumbent Ruth Galanter, Smiley finished fourth among 15 candidates. Smiley became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio segments called ''The Smiley Report'' on KGFJ radio. With Ruben Navarrette, Jr., Smiley co-hosted a local talk show in Los Angeles where his strongly held views on race and politics, combined with his arguments regarding the impact of institutional racism and substandard educational and economic opportunities for inner-city black youth, earned him attention on the ''Los Angeles Times''. His commentaries focused on local and national current-affairs issues affecting the African-American community. For six months, Smiley worked on a community news program on a local cable network and spent six more months working on television in Montreal.

In 1996, Smiley became a frequent commentator on the ''Tom Joyner Morning Show'', a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast on black and urban stations in the United States. He developed a friendship with host Joyner; together they began hosting annual town hall meetings beginning in 2000 called "The State of the Black Union" which were aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. These town hall meetings each focused on a specific topic affecting the African-American community, featuring a panel of African-American leaders, educators, and professionals assembled before an audience to discuss problems related to the forum's topic, as well as potential solutions. Smiley also used his commentator status on Joyner's radio show to launch several advocacy campaigns to highlight discriminatory practices in the media and government and to rally support for causes such as the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Smiley also began building a national reputation as a political commentator with numerous appearances on political discussion shows on MSNBC, ABC, and CNN.

Also in 1996, Smiley began hosting and executive producing ''BET Tonight'' (originally ''BET Talk'' when it first premiered), a public affairs discussion show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. Smiley interviewed major political figures and celebrities and discussed topics ranging from racial profiling and police brutality to R&B; music and Hollywood gossip. Smiley hosted ''BET Tonight'' until 2001, when in a controversial move, the network announced that Smiley's contract would not be renewed. This sparked an angry response from Joyner, who sought to rally his radio audience to protest BET's decision. Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET, defended the decision, stating that Smiley had been fired because he had sold an exclusive interview to ABC News without first offering the story to BET, even though Smiley's contract with BET did not require him to do so. Smiley countered with the assertion that he had offered the story — an interview with Sara Jane Olson, an alleged former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army — to CBS, which, along with BET, was owned by Viacom. Smiley ultimately sold the interview to rival network ABC, he said, only after CBS passed on the interview, and suggested that his firing was payback for the publicity he gained as a result of providing an exclusive interview to ABC. Ultimately BET and Viacom did not reverse their decision to terminate Smiley's contract.

Smiley was then offered a chance to host a radio talk show on National Public Radio. He served as host of ''The Tavis Smiley Show'' on NPR until December 2004 when he announced that he would be leaving his NPR show, citing the network's inability to reach a more diverse audience. Smiley launched a weekly version of his radio program ''The Tavis Smiley Show'' on April 29, 2005, distributed by NPR rival Public Radio International. On October 1, 2010, Tavis Smiley turned the second hour of his PRI program into Smiley & West co-hosted by his longtime collaborator Dr. Cornel West. Smiley also hosts ''Tavis Smiley'', a late night talk show televised on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network and produced in association with WNET in New York.

Smiley moderated two live presidential candidate forums in 2007: a Democratic forum on June 28 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a Republican forum on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Smiley appears on the ''Democracy Now!'' show.

Controversy over Presidential Candidate Barack Obama

On April 11, 2008, Tavis Smiley announced that he would resign in June 2008 as a commentator on the ''Tom Joyner Morning Show''. He cited fatigue and a busy schedule in a personal call to Joyner. However Joyner—referring to several commentaries in which Smiley was critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama—indicated otherwise on his program, stating: "The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much." Prior to the public controversy and being elected President, Obama had been on Smiley's PBS show six times.

''The Covenant with Black America''

In March 2006, ''The Smiley Group'' and Third World Press published ''The Covenant with Black America'', a collection of essays by black scholars and professionals edited by Smiley. The book covers topics ranging from education to healthcare as discussed in several "State of the Black Union" forums.

Described by the publisher as a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African-Americans related to social and economic disparities but seen by others as a self-promoting rehash of old ideas, the book became the first non-fiction book by a Black-owned publisher to be listed as the number-one non-fiction paperback in America by The New York Times Best Seller list.

Awards and contributions

Smiley was honored with the NAACP Image Award for best news, talk, or information series for three consecutive years (1997–99) for his work on ''BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley''.

Smiley's advocacy efforts have earned him numerous awards and recognitions including the recipient of the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the National Association of Minorities in Communications.

In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the black community. Since its inception, more than 6,000 young people have participated in the foundation's Youth to Leaders Training workshops and conferences.

His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lecturers, symposiums, and the Internet.

In 1994, ''Time'' named him one of America's 50 Most Promising Young Leaders. ''Time'' would later honor him in 2009 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." In May 2007, Smiley gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana. In May 2008, he gave the commencement address at Connecticut College, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. In May 2009, Smiley was awarded an honorary doctorate at Langston University after giving the commencement address there.

On December 12, 2008, Smiley received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

He would also be awarded the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

Indiana University recently honored Smiley by naming the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, The Tavis Smiley Atrium.

Smiley would be named No. 2 change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey in EBONY magazine's POWER 150 list.

Bibliography

''Just a Thought: The Smiley Report'' (ISBN 0-963-69523-1)

''Doing What's Right: How to Fight for What You Believe—And Make a Difference'' (ISBN 0-385-49931-0)

''Hard Left'' (ISBN 0-385-48404-6)

''Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America'' (ISBN 0-385-72169-2)

''How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out'' (ISBN 0-385-72087-4)

''On Air:The Best of Tavis Smiley on the Tom Joyner Morning Show'' (ISBN 1-890194-33-6)

''The Covenant with Black America'' (ISBN 0-88378-277-4)

''What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America'' (ISBN 978-0-385-50516-1; ISBN 0-388-50516-7)

''Accountable: Making America As Good As Its Promise

''Fail Up'' (ISBN 1-401-93390-4)

References

Further reading

LaRue, William. "Tavis Smiley: NPR Host Brings Latenight Talk to PBS." ''Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard'', 1 February 2004, STARS section, pp. 4–6.

Slade, Scott. "Author Issues Wakeup Call." ''Kokomo (IN) Tribune'', 20 June 1996, p. 7.

External links

www.tavistalks.com Official web site

Tavis Smiley on WNET/PBS

Tavis Smiley at NPR

Tavis Smiley: The State of the Black Union Interview

Tavis Smiley on Rev. Martin Luther King and His Opposition to the Vietnam War - video by ''Democracy Now!''

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:African American radio personalities Category:American journalists Category:American memoirists Category:American Pentecostals Category:American philanthropists Category:American political writers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Indiana University alumni Category:National Public Radio personalities Category:People from Gulfport, Mississippi Category:People from Kokomo, Indiana Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Montreal Category:People from Peru, Indiana Category:Public Radio International personalities

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