Editing Ruby Dee (section)

==Career==
=== 1940–1959: Early acting roles ===
[[Image:Ruby Dee.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Dee by [[Carl Van Vechten]], September 25, 1962]]
Dee joined the [[American Negro Theatre]] as an apprentice, working with [[Sidney Poitier]], [[Harry Belafonte]], and [[Hilda Simms]].<ref name=wapo/> She made her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut portraying a Native in the play South Pacific<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/south-pacific-1374 | title=South Pacific – Broadway Play – Original &#124; IBDB }}</ref> (1943). She played the title role in the [[Eugene O'Neill]] play ''[[Anna Lucasta (play)|Anna Lucasta]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/remembering-ruby-dee-anna-lucasta-37648/|title=Remembering Ruby Dee in ''Anna Lucasta'' |last=Warfield|first=Polly|website=Backstage.com|date=March 7, 2001|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> She met her future husband [[Ossie Davis]] in the post-[[World War II]] play ''[[Jeb (play)|Jeb]]'' (1946). That same year she was in her first onscreen role in the musical ''[[That Man of Mine]]'' (1946). The following year she acted in the crime film ''[[The Fight Never Ends]]'' (1947).

She received national recognition for her portrayal of [[Rachel Robinson]] in the sports drama film ''[[The Jackie Robinson Story]]'' (1950).<ref name=cnn_obit/> [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised Dee's performance describing her as "the well restrained sweetheart".<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/17/archives/the-screen-in-review-jackie-robinson-story-with-baseball-star.html|title= THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'Jackie Robinson Story,' With Baseball Star Playing Himself, Is Shown of Astor Theatre|work= The New York Times|date= May 17, 1950|accessdate= January 27, 2024|last1= Crowther|first1= Bosley}}</ref> Also in 1950 she had an uncredited role in film noir ''[[No Way Out (1950 film)|No Way Out]]'' directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]. She continued acting in films such as the historical crime film ''[[The Tall Target]]'' (1951), the sports film ''[[Go Man Go (film)|Go Man Go]]'' (1954), the music film ''[[St. Louis Blues (1958 film)|St. Louis Blues]]'' (1958), and the British drama ''[[Virgin Island (film)|Virgin Island]]'' (1958).  During this time she took a role in the film noir ''[[Edge of the City]]'' (1957) starring alongside [[John Cassavetes]] and [[Sidney Poitier]].

=== 1959–1979: Breakthrough and acclaim ===
[[File:A Raisin in the Sun 1959 2.JPG|thumb|right|[[Louis Gossett Jr.]], Dee and [[Sidney Poitier]] in ''[[A Raisin in the Sun]]'' (1959)]]
In 1959 she gained prominence for originating the role of Ruth Younger in the [[Lorraine Hansberry]]'s play ''[[A Raisin in the Sun]]'' which premiered on [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]]. She acted alongside [[Sidney Poitier]] and [[Louis Gossett Jr.]] The play was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. She reprised the role in the [[A Raisin in the Sun (1961 film)|1961 film of the same name]]. She returned to Broadway in the [[Ossie Davis]] satirical farce ''[[Purlie Victorious]]'' (1961) portraying Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins. Howard Taubman of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote of Dee's performance, "[she] has been treated generously. As Lutiebell she has enough humor and charm to make one envy Purlie Victorious that she is eager disciple".<ref>{{cite news|url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/09/29/97249462.html?pageNumber=29|title= Theatre: 'Purlie Victorious' Romps In|work= The New York Times|access-date= January 27, 2024}}</ref> She acted opposite her husband Ossie Davis and [[Alan Alda]] in his acting debut. They reprised their roles of the 1963 film entitled, ''[[Gone Are the Days!]]'' which was produced by [[Brock Peters]] and directed by [[Nicholas Webster]].

Her career in acting crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including the films ''[[A Raisin in the Sun]]'', in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects, and ''[[Edge of the City]]''. She played both roles opposite Poitier.<ref name=wapo/> She received the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie]] for her role on ''[[The Nurses (TV series)|The Doctors and the Nurses]]'' (1964). In 1965, Dee performed in lead roles at the [[American Shakespeare Festival]] as Kate in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' and Cordelia in ''[[King Lear]]'', becoming the first black actress to portray a lead role in the festival. In 1963 she acted in the film ''[[The Balcony (film)|The Balcony]]'' with [[Shelley Winters]], [[Peter Falk]], [[Lee Grant]], and [[Leonard Nimoy]]. She then acted in the film noir ''[[The Incident (1967 film)|The Incident]]'' (1967), the drama film ''[[Uptight (film)|Uptight]]'' (1968), and the documentary ''[[King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis]]'' (1970).

[[File:King A Filmed Record publicity photo (Landau, Dee, Newman, Lumet - retouch).jpg|thumb|left| Left to right: [[Ely Landau]], Ruby Dee, [[Paul Newman]], and [[Sidney Lumet]] at the ''King: A Filmed Record'' (1970)]]
In 1969, Dee appeared in 20 episodes of ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]''.<ref name=cnn_obit/> She acted in Ossie Davis' films ''[[Black Girl (1972 film)|Black Girl]]'' (1972) and ''[[Countdown at Kusini]]'' (1976) and the Western film ''[[Buck and the Preacher]]'' with [[Sidney Poitier]] and [[Harry Belafonte]]. She appeared as Cora Sanders, a Marxist college professor, in season 1, episode 14 of ''[[Police Woman (TV series)|Police Woman]]'', entitled "Target Black" which aired on Friday night, January 3, 1975. The character of Cora Sanders was obviously, but loosely, influenced by the real-life [[Angela Davis]]. She appeared in one episode of ''[[The Golden Girls]]''' sixth season. She played Queen Haley in the miniseries ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'' (1979) for which she received a nomination for the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie]].<ref name=cnn_obit/> She acted in the CBS television film ''[[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (film)|I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings]]'' (1979) based on the [[Maya Angelou]] [[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|autobiography of the same name]].

=== 1980–2014 ===
[[File:Ruby Dee and David Scott.jpg|thumb|right|190px|Dee with Congressman [[David Scott (Georgia politician)|David Scott]] in 2006]]
Dee was nominated for eight [[Emmy Awards]], winning once for her role in the 1990 [[Television movie|TV film]] ''[[Decoration Day (film)|Decoration Day]]''. She was nominated for her television guest appearance in the ''[[China Beach]]'' episode, "Skylark". Her husband [[Ossie Davis]] (1917–2005) also appeared in the episode. She appeared in [[Spike Lee]]'s 1989 film ''[[Do the Right Thing]]'', and his 1991 film ''[[Jungle Fever]]''.<ref name=cnn_obit/> She starred in the television films portraying Mary Tyrone in ''[[Long Day's Journey into Night]]'' (1982) and Mrs. Grimes in ''[[Go Tell It on the Mountain (film)|Go Tell It on the Mountain]]'' (1985). Dee returned to Broadway in the play ''Checkmates'' written by [[Ron Milner]]. She acted alongside [[Denzel Washington]], [[Paul Winfield]] and Marsha Jackson. In 1990 she portrayed [[Zora Neale Hurston]] in ''Zora Is My Name!'' and played [[Jackie Robinson]]'s mother in ''[[The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson]]''. That same year she earned a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for her role in ''[[Decoration Day (film)|Decoration Day]]'' (1990). She played Mother Abagail Freemantle in the [[Stephen King]] miniseries ''[[The Stand (1994 miniseries)|The Stand]]'' (1994). She collaborated with comedian [[Bill Cosby]] acting in both ''[[Cosby (TV series)|Cosby]]'' in 1998 and voicing Alice the Great in the [[Nick Jr.]] animated series ''[[Little Bill]]'' from 1999 to 2004. The next year she and Davis were awarded the [[National Medal of Arts]] from President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>[http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#95 Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721054307/http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html |date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2003, she narrated a series of [[Slave Narrative Collection|WPA]] & [[slave narrative]]s in the HBO film ''[[Unchained Memories]]''. They were also recipients of the 2004 [[Kennedy Center Honors]]. In 2007 the [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]] was shared by Dee and Ossie Davis for ''With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together'', and former President [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref name=wapo/><ref name=usatoday6/> Dee portrayed Mama Lucas in the [[Ridley Scott]] directed crime film ''[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]]'' (2007). Dee acted alongside [[Denzel Washington]] and [[Russell Crowe]]. For her performance she was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] losing to [[Tilda Swinton]] for her role in the legal thriller ''[[Michael Clayton]]'' (2007). She won the [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role|Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role]] for the same performance. At 85 years of age, Dee is currently the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees|third oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress]], behind [[Gloria Stuart]] and [[Judi Dench]] (both 87).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-16|title=Who are the oldest Oscar nominees?|url=https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/who_are_the_oldest_oscar_nominees/s1__37160852|access-date=2022-02-18|website=Yardbarker|language=en}}</ref>

On February 12, 2009, Dee joined the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College orchestra and chorus, along with the Riverside Inspirational Choir and NYC Labor Choir, in honoring Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday at the Riverside Church in [[New York City]]. Under the direction of [[Maurice Peress]], they performed [[Earl Robinson]]'s ''The Lonesome Train: A Music Legend for Actors, Folk Singers, Choirs, and Orchestra'', in which Dee was the narrator.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/news/article.php?id=270 |title=Theriversdechurchny.org |publisher=Theriversidechurchny.org |date=February 1, 2009 |access-date=June 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027133547/http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/news/article.php?id=270 |archive-date=October 27, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Dee's last role in a [[Movie theater|theatrically released]] film was in the [[Eddie Murphy]] comedy ''[[A Thousand Words (film)|A Thousand Words]]'', in which she portrayed the mother of Murphy's protagonist. In 2013 she narrated the Lifetime film ''[[Betty & Coretta]]'' starring [[Angela Bassett]] and [[Mary J. Blige]]. Her final film role is in ''[[1982 (2013 film)|1982]]'', which premiered at the [[2013 Toronto International Film Festival]]<ref>Zeba Blay, [http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/tiff-2013-reviews-tommy-olivers-debut-1982-provides-a-platform-for-hill-harper-to-shine "TIFF 2013 Reviews – Tommy Oliver’s Debut ‘1982’ Provides A Platform For Hill Harper To Shine"], IndieWire, September 13,
 2013.</ref> and was released on [[home video]] on March 1, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://videoeta.com/movie/179342/1982/ |title=VideoETA - 1982 (2015) DVD and Blu-ray |access-date=2016-01-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121055349/http://videoeta.com/movie/179342/1982/ |archive-date=January 21, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It is unknown whether her final role will ever be seen, as ''King Dog'' was in production at the time of her death,<ref>[http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/06/ruby_dee_a_raisin_in_the_sun_a.html "Ruby Dee, 'A Raisin in the Sun' actress, dies at 91"],
 ''Penn Live'', June 12, 2014.</ref> and no release date has ever been announced.