Lena Horne (June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010) was a singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, Horne found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood. Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963, and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television, while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway and earned her numerous awards and accolades. She continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000. Horne died on May 9, 2010 in New York City. During her lifetime, Horne was awarded four Grammys, a Tony, and a NAACP Image Award . She also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1984.

Filmography

• 2005Sarah Vaughan & Other Jazz Divas
• 2004Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover
• 2004The Incomparable Lena Horne
• 1984Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music
• The Cosby Show — Lena Horne
• 1978The Wiz — Glinda the Good
• 1976That's Entertainment, Part II — (archive footage)
• 1974That's Entertainment! — (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Keep US Beautiful
• Sanford and Son
• 1969Death of a Gunfighter — Claire Quintana
• 1965Now! — Self (voice), Music
• The Dean Martin Show
• Password
• 1960Beyond the Riviera
• Kraft Music Hall
• The Twentieth Century
• 1956Meet Me in Las Vegas — Lena Horne
• The Perry Como Show
• Music 55
• Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium
• 1950Duchess of Idaho — Lena Horne
• Your Show of Shows
• 1948Words and Music — Lena Horne
• 1946Mantan Messes Up — Lene
• 1946Till the Clouds Roll By — Julie LaVerne / Lena Horne
• 1945Harlem Hotshots — (archive footage)
• 1945Ziegfeld Follies — Lena Horne (segment "Love")
• 1944Boogie-Woogie Dream
• 1944Broadway Rhythm — Fernway de la Fer
• 1944Two Girls and a Sailor — Lena Horne
• 1943Cabin in the Sky — Georgia Brown
• 1943Stormy Weather — Selina Rogers
• 1943Thousands Cheer — Lena Horne
• 1942Panama Hattie — As self, Singer in Phil's Place (uncredited)
• 1938The Duke Is Tops — Ethel Andrews

Appearances as themselves (56)

• Hollywood Black — Self (archive footage)
• 2021How It Feels to Be Free — Self (archival footage)
• 2019Sid & Judy — Self (archive footage)
• 2019The Green Book: Guide to Freedom — Self - Singer (archive footage)
• 2018Storm in My Heart — Self (archive footage)
• 2010Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days — Self (uncredited) (archive footage)
• 2006Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2 — Self (archive footage)
• 2005An Evening With Lena Horne — self
• 2005Judy Garland Duets — Self (archive footage)
• 2004TV in Black: The First Fifty Years — Self (archive footage)
• 2004The Harlem Renaissance — Self (archive footage)
• 2002It's Black Entertainment — Self (archive footage)
• 2001Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel — Self (archive footage)
• 1999Paul Robeson: Here I Stand — Self
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self
• 1995The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies — Self (archive footage)
• 1994Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! — Self (archive footage)
• 1994That's Entertainment! III — Self - Host
• 1993Aretha Franklin: Duets — Self
• 1990Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs — Self (archive footage)
• 1990You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story — Self (archive footage)
• A Different World — Self
• American Masters — Self
• 1986Sesame Street: Learning About Letters — Self
• 1985Night of 100 Stars II — Self
• 1984DTV: Golden Oldies — Self
• Reading Rainbow — Self - Narrator (voice)
• 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
• 1981Command Performance: The Stars Salute the President — Self
• The Kennedy Center Honors — Self
• The Muppet Show — Self - Special Guest Star / Lola Bramswell
• 1973Keep U.S. Beautiful — Self
• Great Performances — Self
• The Flip Wilson Show — Self
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In — Self (uncredited)
• The Hollywood Palace — Self
• The Judy Garland Show — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• The DuPont Show of the Week — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• 1960The Frank Sinatra Timex Show - To the Ladies — Self - Singer
• The Bell Telephone Hour — Self - Host
• 1958The All-Star Christmas Show — Self
• The Steve Allen Show — Self - Singer
• Tony Awards — Self - Host, Self - Recipient / Performer, Self - Presenter, Self - Co-Hostess
• 1955A.N.T.A. Album of 1955 — Self
• MGM Parade — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• The Colgate Comedy Hour — Self
• What's My Line? — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• 1946Studio Visit — Herself
• 1946Swingtime Jamboree — Herself
• 1943I Dood It — Herself
• 1943Swing Fever — Herself
• Honor Coles, Le Danseur De Claquettes Distingue — Self