Diahann Carroll, Star of 'Julia' and 'A Different World', Dies at 84

Diahann Carroll passed away in Los Angeles at 84, after a valiant battle against cancer.

The world of music and movies is in mourning today as we bid farewell to one of the great divas of the 20th Century: Diahann Carroll

Carroll's daughter Suzanne Kay, announced that her mother had passed away on October 4, 2019, in her Los Angeles home.

Actress and singer Diahann Carroll opened the way for African American women in the entertainment business

DEATH OF A LEGEND

Carroll was 84, and throughout her 64-year career, she was a pioneer and a gamechanger. She was glamorous, sensual and classy, and she transformed the way Hollywood saw and cast Black women in movies and TV.

DIAHANN CARROLL'S LEGACY

Oscar-nominated actress and singer Diahann Carroll opened the way for African American women in the entertainment business. In the TV series "Julia" she was the first Black woman to play more than just the role of a servant. The series which came out at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s was an immediate hit.

Carroll was to win a Golden Globe, an Oscar nomination, four Emmy Awards. and a Tony Award in 1962 for her role in the musical, "No Strings".

DIAHANN CARROLL'S BOUT WITH BREAST CANCER

Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, and thereafter she became an advocate for raising funds for research and free screening for women who couldn’t afford mammograms. She said:

”We all look forward to the day that mastectomies, chemotherapy, and radiation are considered barbaric.”

In her love life, as in her work, Carroll was equally irreverent, with several marriages and love affairs to her credit, including Harry Belafonte, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier, and David Frost.

She lived by her own rules, and throughout her life Carroll was at the forefront, leading the charge, waving a banner, and shattering those barriers.

We will miss Diahann Carroll, her verve, her voice, and above all her courage.