Lena Horne

Boasting one of the most distinctive and beloved voices in show business, Lena Horne forged a career in the movies, the music business, and the theater for over six decades. Spirited and outspoken, she made her way from Brooklyn to become a performer at New York's famous Cotton Club and launched to stardom under contract at MGM as a musical performer and refused to take the usual roles offered at the time to African-American actors. In 1943 she headlined two of the most popular and acclaimed musicals of the era, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, with a number of films, albums, and live productions maintaining her popularity with audiences for the rest of her life.