This page uses content from the Nina Mae McKinney biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Nina Mae McKinney (Born 12 June 1913 Lancaster, South Carolina, USA and died 3 May 1967 New York, New York, USA) was an American actress known for her leading role in Hallelujah! (1929), she was one of the first African-American film stars and is believed to be the first black person to appear on British television.

McKinney moved to New York when still a teenager and began her career performing as a dancer; she was spotted dancing in The Blackbirds of 1928 by the director King Vidor and cast in the lead role of Hallelujah!, one of the first all-black films by a major studio and Vidor's first sound film, for which he was nominated for the best directors Oscar in 1930. In the film McKinney dances the "Swanee Shuffle", a seductive dance which became a minor fashion.

After Hallelujah! McKinney signed a five year contract with MGM but this was not a success; they seemed reluctant to star her in feature films; her most notable roles during this period were in films for other studios, including a leading role in Sanders of the River (1935) where she appears with Paul Robeson. After MGM cut almost all her scenes in Reckless (1935) she left Hollywood for Europe where she acted and danced, appearing mostly in theatrical shows and cabaret. She returned to the USA at the start of World War II where she married Jimmy Monroe, a jazz musician. After the war she moved to Athens, Greece and lived there until she returned to New York in 1960.

In 1978 she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

External links

• Biography on screenonline.org
• On sandlapper.org a local history magazine
• A Nina Mae McKinney fansite

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