Lena Horne

Born Brooklyn, New York

Singer and actress Lena Horne began her stage career as a teenager in the chorus at Harlem’s Cotton Club in 1933, where Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway mentored her. In 1942 Hollywood beckoned, but she refused to accept stereotypical parts, and her roles were often musical cameos that segregated theaters in the South could cut. Horne once said that Stormy Weather and Cabin in the Sky were the only films “in which I played a character who was involved in the plot.” At the height of the Second World War, she toured with the USO entertaining the troops. She became Hollywood’s highest-paid African American actor, and her renditions of “Stormy Weather” and “Just One of Those Things” were considered classics.

During this time, Horne also became a vocal spokesperson for civil rights. She enjoyed a successful nightclub and recording career, and she triumphed in the 1980s with her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music.

Nacida en Brooklyn, Nueva York

La actriz y cantante Lena Horne comenzó su carrera en 1933, aún adolescente, como corista en el Cotton Club de Harlem, donde Duke Ellington y Cab Calloway fueron sus mentores. En 1942 Hollywood la reclamó, pero ella no aceptaba papeles estereotipados, y en general obtenía breves escenas musicales que los cines segregados del Sur podían cortar. Una vez comentó que Stormy Weather y Cabin in the Sky fueron las únicas películas “en que interpreté un personaje que participaba en la trama”. En el apogeo de la 2a Guerra Mundial, realizó una gira con la USO para entretener a las tropas. Llegó a ser la actriz afroamericana mejor pagada de Hollywood y sus versiones de “Stormy Weather” y “Just One of Those Things” se consideran clásicas.

Horne fue una elocuente defensora de los derechos civiles. También prosiguió su exitosa carrera en clubes nocturnos y grabaciones, y en la década de 1980 triunfó con su show unipersonal Lena Horne: La dama y su música.

The artist; purchased 1985 NPG