Born in Cleveland, OH. The daughter of a minister and a stage and screen actress (Ruby Dandridge), she began performing professionally at four, teaming up with her sister Vivian in a song-and-dance act as "The Wonder Children." Later she became a regular on the radio and TV series "Beulah" and gained fame and popularity as a sultry nightclub entertainer. She made her screen debut in a bit part in TEACHER'S BEAU (1935), and she and her sister appeared in THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936 (also 1935) and EASY TO TAKE (1936, uncredited). Dandridge subsequently played small roles in Hollywood films of the 1940s. In the late 1950s she was among the first black performers to achieve star status in the American cinema, as the leading lady of two sumptuous productions, CARMEN JONES (1954), and PORGY AND BESS (1959). Her last film appearance was in 1960's MOMENT OF DANGER. Early in the 1960s Dandridge lost all her money in a get-rich-quick oil-investment scheme and was forced into bankruptcy. Just before she was scheduled to open at New York's Basin Street East, she was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. Her death was ruled a suicide from an overdose of barbiturates. Visit the Internet Movie Database for a listing of all her film and television credits.  Nominated for Actress 1954: CARMEN JONES 1 nomination