Diahann Carroll is the consummate entertainer. So varied and dynamic are her gifts that she continually astounds fans and critics alike with her versatility and magnetism. She is one of America’s major performing talents appearing in nightclubs, the Broadway stage, a Las Vegas headliner, in motion pictures and television. Carroll is a Tony Award® winner, an Emmy® and GRAMMY® nominee, a Golden Globe® winner and a Best Actress Oscar® nominee.
She currently recurs on the USA Network series “White Collar” and recently filmed her stage show, “The Lady-The Music-The Legend”, backed by 28 musicians, for PBS TV.
She debuted her one woman show at Feinstein’s, New York’s premier venue, to sellout audiences and receive overwhelming reviews.
Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote, “Diahann Carroll is historic. Experience it while you can. Her opening number, “Come Rain or Come Shine” erupts out of her like an emotional volcano. From here on, the lava never stops flowing. The forceful dramatic immediacy of her performance of “As If We Never Said Goodbye” is second to none. Throughout the show, Ms. Carroll demonstrates her A-to-Z range as a singing actress. A rip-roaring version of the Sophie Tucker show-stopper “Some of These Days” is matched in commitment by its quiet opposite, the break-up song, “Where Do You Start?”
The New York Post said, “Looking impossibly beautiful and dressed and coiffed in a manner that would make Norma Desmond (whom she played in “Sunset Boulevard”) proud, she delivers in a strong voice remarkably unaffected by age, a well-chosen mixture of standards, pop ballads and songs associated with her stage career”.
Her television nominations go back to 1963, and in 1968 Diahann Carroll became the first black actress in television history to star in her own series, “Julia” for NBC, which soared to the top of the Nielsen rating and received an Emmy® nomination in its first year on air.
She was nominated for an Emmy Award® for the successful NBC series, “A Different World”, as outstanding actress in a comedy series, and also co-starred in the award winning night-time series “Dynasty”, which is still in syndication around the world.
She had a recurring role in Showtime’s hit series “Soul Food”, playing the outspoken ‘Aunt Ruthie’, which was nominated twice for a NAACP Image Award, and guest starred in Lifetime TV’s “Strong Medicine” and in NBC’s TV show “Whoopi”, playing Whoopi Goldberg’s mother. She also starred on stage in the musical “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” receiving more critical acclaim.
She starred on stage as ‘Norma Desmond’ in the Toronto premiere production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Sunset Boulevard, staged by director Trevor Nunn and the show’s entire original creative team. Hailed by the press as “the ultimate Norma Desmond,” Carroll played to sell-out crowds, and her Canadian cast recording outsold all other recordings of the show.
Carroll made her Broadway stage debut starring in Harold Arlen and Truman Capote’s House of Flowers and after seeing her in this production, Richard Rodgers created the Broadway production No Strings as a starring vehicle for Carroll, for which she won the Tony Award®. She also starred on Broadway in the award winning play Agnes of God.
Her film work includes Claudine, for which she received a 1974 Best Actress Academy Award® nomination, Carmen Jones, Paris Blues, Porgy & Bess, Hurry Sundown, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Eve’s Bayou.
She is an award-winning actress, a successful entrepreneur, a devoted humanitarian… indeed, Diahann Carroll is a legend.
