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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on July 27, 2014.
In September of 1968, the TV series Julia premiered on NBC starring a young Diahann Carroll. It was the first time in history that an African-American woman starred in a TV show in a non-stereotypical role. It was the first time we weren’t seen as maids, Jezebels, or drug abusers. Ms. Carroll (Julia Baker) played a widowed single mother who was a nurse.
Julia stayed on air for three seasons, producing 86 episodes. Over at EBONY, Carroll discussed making history with the sitcom:
“I did feel that it was something that I had not seen in my childhood, and that was the star of a show being not only a woman, but a Black woman. I was very happy to be that representative. I felt that I could do it, and I liked to only try to do jobs that I feel I can do. So once that was established and we had the ratings and the approval of the American public, I felt very honored to have been able to present that the way we did at that time. I must be very honest with you. I was never, in my life really, a big television person. I felt it was a charming little show and that I loved the writing. I felt it would be somehow necessary. But I never thought that it would carry with it the kind of weight that it has, in terms of making a contribution into this country moving along with our acute racial problem.”
Carroll went on to star in major studio films such as Porgy and Bess and Carmen Jones in the 50’s. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the 1974 film Claudine, and became the first Black woman to win a Tony Award for Best Actress for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. We love seeing our sisters make history and live to tell it. Diahann Carroll is without a doubt a pioneer and we salute her and stand on her shoulders. Here are 11 of her classiest moments.
