Musician and actress Ethel Waters rose from the depths of poverty to become a major figure in American entertainment, where she achieved numerous firsts as a Black woman and left behind a legacy warranting special recognition from the Library of Congress and her own postage stamp. Born on October 31, 1896, to a teenage rape victim, Waters grew up poor and neglected, but was able to capitalize on an opportunity that arose after she was coaxed into singing during an event at a nightclub. Her voice earned her a paying gig at a venue in Baltimore, which launched her into a whirlwind young adulthood that included time spent in a touring carnival, a black vaudeville troupe, and then to a nightclub in Atlanta before heading north just in time for the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
She cut her first record in 1921, making her one of the first black women to do so. Eventually she landed at Columbia Records, where she released a host of successful singles ranging from jazz to pop, including “Dinah” in 1925, and her signature song -- her first Number 1 -- “Am I Blue?” in 1929. She made it to the top of the charts again in 1933 with her version of “Stormy Weather”, and these three songs would later be enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, with “Stormy Weather” earning preservation in the Library of Congress.
Though she had dabbled in acting before, she began to perform in this capacity more regularly in the early 1930s, both onstage and onscreen. She was the first Black woman to perform on Broadway, and she eventually became its highest-paid star. She starred in Vincente Minnelli’s adaptation of Cabin in the Sky, reprising her stage role, and earned an Academy Award nomination in 1949 for her work in Elia Kazan’s film Pinky. She also became the first Black television host when she hosted her own variety show in 1939.
Her career lagged after the mid-1950s, and she sought solace in religion. She became active with Billy Graham’s crusade, and often appeared alongside him at rallies and revivals. She steered clear of secular entertainment from that point on, and died in California on September 1, 1977.
