Iconic and Pioneering Actress Diahann Carroll Passes Away at 84

Remembering Diahann Carroll In A Lifetime Of Photos After Legendary Actress Dies At 84

[caption id="attachment_3889002" align="alignnone" width="857"] Source: NBC / Getty[/caption] Prayers up. We have lost an icon. Legendary actress, singer, and activist Diahann Carroll has died, according to multiple reports. She was 84 years old. Carroll's daughter told the Hollywood Reporter that her mother died at her Los Angeles home after battling breast cancer. READ MORE: 10 Times Diahann Carroll Slayed "Carroll was known as a Las Vegas and nightclub performer and for her performances on Broadway and in the Hollywood musicals Carmen Jones and Porgy & Bess when she was approached by an NBC executive to star as Julia Baker, a widowed nurse raising a young son, on the comedy Julia," the Hollywood Reporter wrote. https://twitter.com/ava/status/1180159835989348352?s=20 Born July 17, 1935, in the Bronx, Carroll's career on stage, television, and film was noteworthy for breaking color barriers. In 1962, Carroll became the first Black actress to win a Tony Award for her performance in the 1962 musical “No Strings,” a role written especially for her by the American composer Richard Rogers.  Six years later, Carroll starred on the hit NBC sitcom "Julia," marking the first time an African American actress starred on a television series in a non servant role. Carroll's groundbreaking performance as widowed single mother Julia Baker received widespread critical acclaim. In 1969, she became the first Black actress to be nominated for - and win - a Golden Globe award for her work on "Julia."  A year later, Carroll would make history once again by becoming the first Black actress to earn a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. https://twitter.com/TheWing/status/1180164976134295553?s=20 And if Carroll's achievements weren't impressive enough, she also nabbed an Oscar nomination in 1974 for her role in the film “Claudine.” https://twitter.com/ava/status/1180177310961397761?s=20 She was also an accomplished singer, as shown in the video below. https://twitter.com/BlackMusicHstry/status/1180165558978977792?s=20 TV One remembered how Carroll would "go on to star in Dynasty in 1984 as the super sexy fashionista Dominique Deveraux, making her the first prominently featured African-American character on a primetime soap opera — a spot that wouldn’t be filled by another Black woman until Kerry Washington in 2012." Carroll's role as Dominique Deveraux in the prime time soap opera "Dynasty" proved to be a transformative experience for the actress. According to a Washington Post interview published in 2017, Deveraux was "an elegant songstress and businesswoman whom Carroll declared at the time would be television’s 'first black bitch.' She instructed the prime-time soap’s writers to 'just pretend that I’m a white male . . . and write the character from there.' And there, yet another breakthrough, America getting to watch a black woman complaining about the off-brand of caviar she had been served." https://twitter.com/ira/status/1180154333863657472?s=20 Carroll went into a bit more detail when describing to the producers of "Dynasty" how she'd like Deveraux's character to be. "The most important thing to remember is write for a white male, and you'll have the character. Don't try to write for what you think I am. Write for a white man who wants to be wealthy and powerful. And that's the way we found Dominique Deveraux," Carroll said in the early 1980s. https://twitter.com/TelevisionAcad/status/1180162768260853760?s=20 Carroll also played Whitley Gilbert's mother on the popular 1990s sitcom "A Different World." https://twitter.com/_80sPROTOTYPE_/status/1180172955428573185?s=20 She was married four times and is survived by her daughter, producer and journalist Suzanne Kay, and her grandchildren, August and Sydney. Carroll was first diagnosed with cancer in 1997, which she beat after undergoing surgery and radiation therapy. The experience inspired her to become a public breast cancer activist. She is also a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, which offers services to homeless women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction or prostitution. The world will miss her dearly. Scroll down to take a look at dozens of stunning photos of her through the years.