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Ruby Dee Biography

Actor / Writer / Activist

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Name at birth: Ruby Ann Wallace

Ruby Dee has been a star of stage and screen since her 1946 Broadway debut in Anna Lucasta. She has since appeared hundreds of times in plays, movies and television shows, frequently co-starring with her husband, actor Ossie Davis. The pair, married since 1948, are also famous for their off-screen activism and work on behalf of African-Americans in the performing arts. Dee's films include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), A Raisin in the Sun (1961, with Sidney Poitier), Do the Right Thing (1988, directed by Spike Lee) and Baby Geniuses (1999).

Extra credit: In 2004 Dee and Davis were honored by the Kennedy Center for their contributions to the performing arts in America... In 1998 Dee published a collection of writings, My One Good Nerve... In 2000 she and Davis published their autobiography, With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together.