
Ruby Dee
Highest Rated: 100% The Tall Target (1951)
Lowest Rated: 0% A Thousand Words (2012)
Birthday: Oct 27, 1922
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Academy Award-nominated actress Ruby Dee was, by all accounts, an American icon. Her career spanned no fewer than three major movements in African-American culture - from the post-Harlem Renaissance era to the black pride voice of the 1970s to the commoditization of urban black culture in the 1990s. Throughout it all, the intellectual, smoky-voiced actress appeared on stage and screen in dramas that explored the black experience and celebrated its finest wordsmiths. Off-screen, Dee and husband/frequent collaborator, Ossie Davis, were devoted civil rights activists, whose career choices did as much to further the cause as their presence at pivotal moments in African-American history. During the 60-plus years of her career, Dee witnessed the fruits of her labor, as the civil rights movement ushered in a new era of respect and dignity for African-American actors who were afforded broad outlets to showcase the breadth of their talent. A dramatic orator and enthusiast of the African-American storytelling genre, Dee was also a published poet and author, as well as screenwriter. In every field that the impassioned and multi-talented Dee fearlessly pursued, she ensured that her children and grandchildren would enjoy greater opportunities than the world into which she was born. Her death on June 11, 2014 was mourned by fans and civil rights leaders worldwide.
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Life's Essentials With Ruby Dee | Unknown (Character) | - | 2014 |
No Score Yet | 67% | Betty & Coretta | Narrator | - | 2013 |
78% | 61% | 1982 | Rose Brown (Character) | - | 2013 |
0% | 47% | A Thousand Words | Annie McCall (Character) | $18.4M | 2012 |
50% | 89% | Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary | Unknown (Character) | $35.8K | 2012 |
No Score Yet | 67% | Video Girl | Lorie's Grandmother (Character) | - | 2010 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | America | Mrs. Harper (Character) | - | 2009 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema | Herself (Voice) | - | 2007 |
13% | 33% | Steam | Doris (Character) | - | 2007 |
81% | 82% | American Gangster | Mama Lucas (Character) | $130.1M | 2007 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Way Back Home | Unknown (Character) | - | 2006 |
58% | 75% | No. 2 | Nanna Maria (Character) | - | 2006 |
No Score Yet | 81% | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Nanny (Character) | - | 2005 |
No Score Yet | 50% | Taking Back Our Town | Emelda West (Character) | - | 2001 |
No Score Yet | 54% | A Storm in Summer | Grandmother (Character) | - | 2000 |
No Score Yet | 65% | Finding Buck McHenry | Mrs. Henry (Character) | - | 2000 |
No Score Yet | 79% | Passing Glory | Mommit Porter (Character) | - | 1999 |
No Score Yet | 67% | Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years | Annie Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany (Character) | - | 1999 |
2% | 24% | Baby Geniuses | Margo (Character) | $27.1M | 1999 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | For My People: The Life and Writings of Margaret Walker | Narrator | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet | 100% | The Wall | Mrs. Mitchell (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner | Unknown (Character) | - | 1998 |
25% | 41% | A Simple Wish | Hortense (Character) | $8.1M | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Captive Heart: The James Mink Story | Indigo (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Stories From the Edge | Unknown (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | On the Edge | Unknown (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | 83% | Mr. and Mrs. Loving | Sophia (Character) | - | 1996 |
26% | 46% | Just Cause | Evangeline (Character) | $35.7M | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Whitewash | Unknown (Character) | - | 1995 |
14% | 34% | Cop and a Half | Rachel (Character) | $30.1M | 1993 |
80% | 43% | Color Adjustment | Narrator | - | 1992 |
81% | 67% | Jungle Fever | Lucinda Purify (Character) | $31.7M | 1991 |
No Score Yet | 60% | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Jackie's mother (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | 64% | Decoration Day | Rowena (Character) | - | 1990 |
93% | 90% | Do the Right Thing | Mother Sister (Character) | $26M | 1989 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Making 'Do the Right Thing' | Herself (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet | 64% | Go Tell It on the Mountain | Mrs. Grimes (Character) | - | 1984 |
61% | 46% | Cat People | Female (Character) | - | 1982 |
No Score Yet | 72% | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Grandmother Baxter (Character) | - | 1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Countdown at Kusini | Leah Matanzima (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | It's Good to Be Alive | Ruth Campanella (Character) | - | 1974 |
No Score Yet | 77% | Black Girl | Netta's mother (Character) | - | 1972 |
No Score Yet | 59% | Buck and the Preacher | Ruth (Character) | - | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Sheriff | Sue-Anne Lucas (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Deadlock | Lucinda (Character) | - | 1969 |
No Score Yet | 83% | Uptight | Laurie (Character) | - | 1968 |
88% | 89% | The Incident | Joan Robinson (Character) | - | 1967 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gone Are the Days | Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins (Character) | - | 1963 |
94% | 87% | A Raisin in the Sun | Ruth Younger (Character) | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Virgin Island | Ruth (Character) | - | 1959 |
No Score Yet | 82% | Take a Giant Step | Christine (Character) | - | 1959 |
56% | 79% | St. Louis Blues | Elizabeth (Character) | - | 1958 |
No Score Yet | 73% | Edge of the City | Lucy Tyler (Character) | - | 1957 |
100% | 68% | The Tall Target | Rachel (Character) | - | 1951 |
90% | 82% | No Way Out | Connie Brooks (uncredited) (Character) | - | 1950 |
63% | 52% | The Jackie Robinson Story | Rae Robinson (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | That Man of Mine | Joan (Character) | - | 1947 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Wendy Williams Show | Guest | 2011 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Tyra Show | Guest | 2009 |
No Score Yet | 85% | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2007 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fatherhood | Unknown (Voice) | 2004-2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Feast of All Saints | Unknown (Character) | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Touched by an Angel | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1999 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cosby | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1999 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Promised Land | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1998 |
71% | 66% | Stephen King's The Stand | Unknown (Character) | 1994 |
No Score Yet | 94% | The Golden Girls | Mammy Watkins (Guest Star) | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gore Vidal's Lincoln | Unknown (Character) | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Spenser: For Hire | Unknown (Character) | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Police Woman | Cora Sanders (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | What's My Line? | Guest | 1974 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Peyton Place | Alma Miles (Character) | 1964-1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | East Side/West Side | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fugitive | Laura Smith (Guest Star) | 1963 |
QUOTES FROM Ruby Dee CHARACTERS
Da Mayor says: [after last night's riot] Hope the block is still standing.
Mother Sister says: We're still standing.
Mother Sister says: Good morning.
Da Mayor says: Is it a good morning?
Mother Sister says: Yes, indeed. You almost got yourself killed last night.
Mother Sister says: Mother Sister's always watching!
Annie McCall says: Life's not worth living with out family. Right? Right?!
Annie McCall says: I like cake! Don't you Jack?