Ruby Dee (1922–2014,) born Ruby Ann Wallace, was an American actress, writer, and civil rights activist known for her pioneering work in African American theater and film. Her seven-decade career earned widespread acclaim for contributions to the arts and social justice.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she grew up in Harlem, New York, and graduated from Hunter College (1945.) She began acting with the American Negro Theatre, making her Broadway début in South Pacific (1943.) She gained national recognition as Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun (1959,) later reprising the role in the 1961 film.
Dee starred in The Jackie Robinson Story (1950,) Edge of the City (1957,) Buck and the Preacher (1972,) and Do the Right Thing (1989.) Her performance in American Gangster (2007) earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Beyond acting, Dee was a prolific writer. Her works include My One Good Nerve: Rhythms, Rhymes, Reasons (1988,) a poetry and essay collection, and With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (1998,) co-written with her husband, Ossie Davis. A dedicated activist, she and Davis served as emcees at the 1963 March on Washington.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Ruby Dee
The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within – strength, courage, dignity.
—Ruby Dee
Topics: Beauty
Revolutionaries don’t get job security.
—Ruby Dee
Topics: Risk-taking
We are miracles. Each of us is an absolute astonishment. So whether you believe in miracles or not, we still are. We still partake of “miracledom.”
—Ruby Dee
Topics: Miracles
The greatest gift is not being afraid to question.
—Ruby Dee
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