Many of you may ask the question: “Who is Dorothy Dandridge?" Dorothy Dandridge is a black actress and singer from the classic Hollywood era. She has appeared in a plethora of successful films, though some of them are uncredited roles.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio November 9, 1922, and had a younger sibling, Vivian. Their mother, Ruby, saw the talent they possessed at a young age & created a song-and-dance act for the two named: The Wonder Children. Dorothy and Vivian would be managed by their mother’s boyfriend, Geneva Williams. Geneva had a bad temper and would physically abuse both of the girls. The girls would travel all over the south performing nonstop for five years – rarely attending school.

By the time of The Great Depression, Ruby had moved her & her girls to Hollywood. She found steady work in radio & film. She would have small parts of servant roles. 1934 came around & The Wonder Children would be renamed: “The Dandridge Sisters”. Dorothy & Vivian would be joined by a classmate of theirs, Etta Jones, making them now a trio.

The Dandridge Sisters were strong for a few years and booked at high-profile clubs such as The Cotton Club and Apollo Theater. It was at the age of 13 that Dorothy would appear on-screen for the first time in an “Our Gang” comedy short: Teacher’s Beau (1935). She’d appear in other productions in minor roles, but it started to earn her recognition through also continuing her nightclub performances worldwide. Her first credited film role would be Four Shall Die (1940). Dorothy would continue having small roles in productions – even performing with The Nicholas Brothers in Sun Valley Serenade (1941). This would continue showcasing her abilities as a singer, and dancer and her acting abilities, also a strong emphasis on physical attributes. It wasn’t until May 1951 when Dorothy opened for the Mocambo Club in West Hollywood - the biggest opening in history - that her career took a turn. An MGM studio agent saw her at the club and recommended she make an appearance as a club singer, in her name, in Remains to Be Seen (1953). Soon later, she would star in her first starring role as Jane Richards in Bright Road (1953) – alongside Harry Belafonte. Little did she know she was about to hit superstardom with her next project, Carmen Jones (1954), her most famous & iconic film role.

In 1953, 20th Century Fox began the process of an all-black cast film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Carmen. The director & writer, Otto Preminger saw Dorothy as a smaller role of Cindy Lou at first. It wasn’t until screen-testing that she & makeup artist, Max Factor, gave the character of Carmen an earthy look. This effect suggested to the director a freer, looser version of Carmen & earned her the leading role instead. This star-studded cast would also include Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, Olga James, and Madame Sul-Te-Wan.

Carmen Jones opened in theaters on October 28, 1954. It received favorable reviews & strong box-office earnings. Carmen Jones would make Dorothy the first black sex symbol in Hollywood and rave positive reviews on her performance. By November 1st of the same year, she’d become the first black woman to be on the cover of LIFE magazine. Carmen Jones became a worldwide phenomenon & became one of the year’s highest-earning films. Dorothy would also continue to make history as the first black woman to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Even though she didn’t win the award, she became an overnight sensation. She was now a superstar!

Dorothy in the beginning of her career had limited options for film roles because of her rejection of stereotypical black roles during that era. Now, she has become the lead & breaking barriers as an actress! The studios had big plans for her to become the first black-screen icon! By 1955, Dorothy became the first black performer in the Empire Room at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. So you see, Dorothy Dandridge changed history & gave black actresses more opportunities than being a slave or a servant type role. That black women could be so much more than that & be the leading star of films.

As much of a film icon as Dorothy Dandridge is, both white & most black audiences call her: “the black Marilyn Monroe”. Why is that? Unbeknownst to many, Marilyn & Dorothy were close friends. They both met at the Actor’s Lab in L.A. They both dreamed of reaching superstardom status in Hollywood. The pair would often meet at Dorothy’s and discuss their career aspirations and men. Marilyn was influenced a lot by Dorothy, she even got a kick out of how both their first & last names started with the same initials. Marilyn never tried to hide or deny their friendship. It was just so unpopular for white people & black people to be friends during segregation at the time. It was frowned upon. Media outlets refused to report on their friendship. Both of them were also very close with Ava Gardner as well.

I think that Dorothy is considered “the black Marilyn Monroe” due to the way both stars were mistreated by the studios, the industry & the men in their lives. I get it, but Dorothy was so much more than that. Marilyn has been considered an influential pop culture icon! She’s everywhere, has had countless movies & documentaries, merchandising, in many mood boards and both white AND black women look up to her… so why not Dorothy as well?

The main reason would have to be that Dorothy is a black woman. A woman of color. Marilyn represented that symbol of freedom & desire – a woman that the average American man felt he wasn’t wealthy or good enough to have. Dorothy was “our” Marilyn. “Our” as in Black America. She was the woman who represented us and what black America wanted. She was just as gorgeous as Marilyn, but what could Hollywood do with that? She was too beautiful to play stereotypical roles & she refused to play those roles. The only thing they could cast her as was in minor roles, a specialty act or singer, or in an all-black cast as a lead – which were few and far between back at the time.

Dorothy Dandridge had everything that Marilyn had and even more. She could have reached the same heights & popularity, but it was the color of her skin that halted all of this. It dampened her career in later years when she had just gotten HUGE success from Carmen Jones. There weren't any other iconic films & roles that she had as Marilyn does. If you aren’t a fan of films or seen or heard of Carmen Jones, you don’t know about her. In a way, she’s underrated at the same time because she’s only known to many as “the black Marilyn Monroe” when she’s so much more.