Lena Horne

Lena Horne, born in 1917, American popular singer and actress, known for her elegant style and striking appearance. Horne was the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major motion-picture studio in the United States.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, she began her professional career at the age of 16 as a chorus dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, where she was exposed to important American artists such as jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington and jazz singer Billie Holiday. Horne sang with the orchestra of American composer Noble Sissle from 1935 to 1936, and later with the big band of American saxophonist Charlie Barnet. She made her Broadway debut in 1934 and appeared in the Broadway musical revue Blackbirds of 1939 (1939).

In 1942 Horne signed a contract with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) motion-picture studio. Two films from 1943, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, gained her widespread attention and established her reputation as a singer. The title song from Stormy Weather, written by American composer Harold Arlen, became her theme song and was a major hit during the 1940s.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s Horne appeared in numerous motion-picture musicals, performed in major nightclubs in the United States, and recorded with artists such as American jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and American bandleaders Cab Calloway and Artie Shaw. Her 1959 album Porgy and Bess, recorded with American singer Harry Belafonte, made the Billboard magazine top-30 album charts, and her 1955 recording of the song “Love Me or Leave Me” reached the Billboard top-20 singles charts.

In 1957 Horne gained her first starring role on Broadway, appearing in the musical Jamaica. She was featured in the 1978 motion picture The Wiz, and in 1981 she had her own one-woman Broadway show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which attracted record audiences. In 1981 Horne won two Grammy Awards for the show's accompanying music album. In 1994 Horne sang with popular vocalist Frank Sinatra on his album Duets II.

Horne has received many awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate degree from Harvard University, a special Tony Award for her theater achievements, the New York Drama Critics' Special Award, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Spingarn Award. In 1989 she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.