Prince William
Famous Astronauts
Nelson Mandela
Kanye West
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Liberace
Leonardo DiCaprio
Annie Oakley
I Survived
Quick Facts
- NAME: Ruby Dee
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Actress, Playwright, Poet, Screenwriter
- BIRTH DATE: October 27, 1924 (Age: 88)
- EDUCATION: Hunter College, American Negro Theatre
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Cleveland, Ohio
- Originally: Ruby Ann Wallace
- AKA: Ruby Dee
- AKA: Ruby Wallace
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
Ruby Dee is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, activist, poet and journalist, perhaps best known for starring in the 1961 film A Raisin in the Sun. She's also known for her civic work with husband Ossie Davis.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowRuby Dee. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:54, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542.
Ruby Dee. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Ruby Dee." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 08:54 http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542.
"Ruby Dee," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Ruby Dee," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Ruby Dee [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542.
Ruby Dee, http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Ruby Dee. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-dee-9269542. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Later Years
In 1998, Dee and her husband published With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together, a look at their life experiences during their 50 years of marriage. The book received warm reviews for its humor and candor. Dee also wrote and performed the one-woman show My One Good Nerve around this time.
Dee suffered a tremendous loss in 2005, when her husband, Ossie Davis, died unexpectedly. She had been away, filming a movie in New Zealand, at the time of his death; Davis had been working on a film entitled Retirement. That same year, Dee and Davis won a Grammy Award (best spoken word album) for the audio version of With Ossie and Ruby.
Continuing to work, despite her grief, Dee delivered one of her great performances in 2007's American Gangster. She played the mother of notorious crime figure Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, in the film. For her work, she received an Academy Award nomination and won a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Now in her 90s, Dee continues to perform. Among her recent work, Dee was hired to narrate the Lifetime original movie Betty and Coretta (2013), which follows the lives of Coretta Scott King, played by Angela Bassett, and Betty Shabazz, played by Mary J. Blige, after the assassinations of their husbands.
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
Black History People
-
Black History Groups
Learn more about the lives of African-Americans who have made extraordinary achievements in their fields, with our collection of Black History Groups.
Explore our curated collections of African-American figures, including:
Black History Videos
-
Black History Videos
Watch full episodes of Black History icons, record-breakers and leaders. See how famous figures like Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and Jackie Robinson changed history. See all videos.
profile name: Ruby Dee profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Silver Foxes
View groupHaving silver hair in Hollywood doesn't just equate to getting along in years and becoming omnipotently wise; rather, when you think of men like Andersoon Cooper, Sean Connery, and Richard Gere, as well as women like Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep—the words sexy, debonair, and sophisticated also come to mind. Oh, and did we mention sexy? Meet some of our favorite Silver Foxes...
Silver Foxes 28 people in this group
-
African-American Biopics
View groupWho can forget Angela Bassett as Tina Turner or Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles? Do you remember who played Billie Holiday? Or who Beyoncé performed as in the film Cadillac Records? More recent African-American biopics include the Lifetime original movie Betty & Coretta (2013), starring Angela Bassett as Coretta Scott King and Mary J. Blige as Betty Shabazz, and The Butler (2013), starring Forest Whitaker and based on the life of Eugene Allen.
View our photos of African-American biopics to compare these famous figures to the actors and actresses who have portrayed them.
African-American Biopics 39 people in this group
-
Famous Scorpios 511 people in this group
