Lena Horne

Photo credit last.fm

Lena Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. She first performed when she was sixteen years old in the chorus group of the Cotton Club. She began to rise in fame as orchestras, radio shows, and movies picked her up and she made her way in Hollywood. Although she had more fame in Hollywood, she grew bored and returned to the clubs to do what she loved where she loved. She was also very active in the Civil Rights Movement and performed at various venues that encouraged civil rights. She even married a white man just to make a point of being in an interracial couple. Her ethnicity was questioned a lot, because she did not have dark skin, nor the typical features of African-Americans. She was an inspirational singer who had a great stage personality and a beautiful voice. Lena Horne died of heart failure on May 9, 2010, in New York City, New York. One of her most famous songs and her debut song for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was Stormy Weather. 

Photo credit doctormacro.com

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