Born Ruby Ann Wallace on October 27, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio. The daughter of a train porter and a schoolteacher, Ruby Dee grew up in Harlem and attended Hunter College before joining the American Negro Theatre in 1941. The veteran stage, film and television luminary made her Broadway debut in the 1943 drama South Pacific,and took her first leading role in 1946’s Anna Lucasta.
The diminutive African American actress rarely played typical black roles in film, and her repertoire varied from Shakespeare’s Cleopatra to the nave Lutiebelle in Purlie Victorious. She is also well known for her numerous collaborations with her husband, actor Ossie Davis, whom she married in 1948. Dee’s films span a generation and include 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story,1961’s A Raisin in the Sun and 1988’s Do the Right Thing.
In 2008, Dee received her first Oscar nomination for her role as Mama Lucas, the mother of drug lord Frank Lucas, in the hit film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington.
Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis were renowned for their work on behalf of equal opportunities for African Americans in the performing arts. In 2004, the couple received the Kennedy Center Honors for their contributions. They published their joint autobiography, With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together, in 2000. Dee penned her well received memoir, My One Good Nerve, in 1998.American writer, actor, director, and social activist who was known for his contributions to African American theatre and film and for his passionate support of civil rights and humanitarian causes. He was also noted for his artistic partnership with his wife, Ruby Dee, which was considered one of the theatre and film world’s most distinguished.
After attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., Davis moved to New York City to pursue a career as a writer. He served in the army during World War II but returned to New York City after the war with an interest in acting. In 1946 he made his Broadway debut in Jeb, during the run of which he met Dee, whom he married in 1948.
Davis and Dee frequently appeared together on stage, screen, and television—most notably in Purlie Victorious (1961), a play written by Davis and later adapted for the screen as Gone Are the Days (1963). Davis directed and wrote the films Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Countdown to Kusini (1976). He continued to work into the 21st century, combining his acting pursuits with writing and civil rights campaigning. Davis made several films with Spike Lee, including Do the Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), in which he reenacted the real-life eulogy he had given for the fallen civil rights leader. Davis also spoke at the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968. The recipients of numerous honours, Davis and Dee were jointly awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004. Ossie Davis died in 2005. BCG celebrates the life of Ossie Davis on this day in black history and salute the work of actress and activist Ms. Ruby Dee!
Source: Bio
