Lena Horne is best known as a beautiful and talented singer, but she also has performed in a number of Top 100 Black Classic Movies films.
She began her career at the age of sixteen as a dancer in the famed Cotton Club in Harlem. From there she went on to tour as a singer with Noble Sissle and His Orchestra and traveled around the country.
Her very first screen role was in the all-Black cast film, “The Duke is Tops”, which was also released as “The Bronze Venus.”
While singing in Hollywood at the “Little Troc” nightclub, she was approached by MGM studios to sign a movie contract. Her contract was the first time that an African-American woman was given a movie studio contract with the condition that she not have to play racially stereotypical roles.
She made a number of films while under contract with MGM which included “Cabin in the Sky” and “Stormy Weather” which are both Top 100 Black Classic Movies films.
In 1981, Lena Horne opened her Broadway show, “The Lady and Her Music” which was an autobiographical performance of her life. The show received rave reviews and was awarded a Tony award. The show ran for 333 performances which was “the longest run for a one-person production in Broadway history.” The soundtrack for “The Lady and Her Music” won two Grammy awards.
With a career spanning over six decades, Lena Horne has performed in many different entertainment venues – stage, screen, nightclub, television and radio. |
Lena Horne 
