Diahann Carroll

Carol Diann Johnson grew up in Harlem, the daughter of a nurse and a subway conductor. She attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and began modeling as a teenager, appearing in Ebony and other publications. Those early modeling jobs led to singing engagements in nightclubs, where she developed the poised stage presence that would shape her career.

Carroll made her film debut in Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones (1954) and her Broadway debut that same year in House of Flowers. She went on to appear in the film versions of Porgy and Bess (1959) and Paris Blues (1961). In 1962 she starred in Richard Rodgers's Broadway musical No Strings as a fashion model in Paris; the role won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, making her the first African American woman to take that prize.

Her breakthrough in television came in 1968 with Julia, in which she played a widowed nurse raising a young son. The series was a hit and made Carroll the first African American woman to headline a network television show in a non-stereotypical role. She won a Golden Globe for the performance and received an Emmy nomination. In 1974 she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Claudine, playing a Harlem single mother opposite James Earl Jones.

Carroll later joined the cast of Dynasty in 1984 as the scheming singer Dominique Deveraux, Blake Carrington's half-sister; the role was one of the first major Black characters in a prime-time soap opera. She continued working in television and film, published the memoir The Legs Are the Last to Go in 2008, and died of cancer in 2019. She was married four times, including to singer Vic Damone, and had a daughter, Suzanne, with her first husband, Monte Kay.

Diahann Carroll was born on July 17, 1935 in New York City, New York, United States. In Cardology (Destiny Cards), July 17, 1935 corresponds to the Jack of Clubs, making the Jack of Clubs his Birth Card.

In numerology, the name adds another layer to the birth-date profile. The letters of a person’s name are used to explore inner motivation, personality, expression, and the qualities they bring into relationships and everyday life. Explore how his original name Carol Diann Johnson influences his life and personality.