Ruby Dee
Known for: Acting
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Do the Right Thing (1989) and American Gangster (2007).
Filmography
Series
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Mary Wilson
2000
Series
Touched by an Angel
LaBelle Springbelt
1994
Series
Great Performances
Self
1971
Series
The Fugitive
Laura Smith
1963
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
American Experience
Narrator (voice)
1988
Series
The Golden Girls
Mammy Watkins
1985
Series
American Playhouse
Mrs. Grimes
1982
Series
American Playhouse
Zora Neale Hurston
1982
Series
Police Woman
1974
Series
The Defenders
Catherine Collins
1961
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Grandma (voice)
1995
Series
China Beach
1988
Series
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
1983
Film
American Gangster
Mama Lucas
2007
Series
Spenser: For Hire
1985
Series
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
1978
Series
The Stand
Mother Abagail Freemantle
1994
Series
The Great Adventure
Harriet Tubman
1963
Series
Roots: The Next Generations
Queen Haley
1979
Film
A Thousand Words
Annie McCall
2012
Film
Do the Right Thing
Mother Sister
1989
Series
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage)
2024
Film
Cat People
Female
1982
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Rowena Finch
1951
Series
Little Bill
1999
Film
Baby Geniuses
Margo
1999
Series
Iconoclasts
Self
2005
Film
Jungle Fever
Lucinda Purify
1991
Series
The Atlanta Child Murders
Faye Williams
1985
Film
Just Cause
Evangeline Ferguson
1995
Film
Cop & ½
Rachel
1993
Film
A Simple Wish
Hortence
1997
Series
Lincoln
Elizabeth Keckley
1988
Film
Buck and the Preacher
Ruth
1972
Series
Armchair Theatre
Vicky Kingsbury
1956
Film
Edge of the City
Lucy Tyler
1957
Film
A Raisin in the Sun
Ruth Younger
1961
Film
Feast of All Saints
Elsie Claviere
2001
Film
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
1970
Film
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
2014
Film
The Incident
Joan Robinson
1967
Film
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Nanny
2005
Film
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2003
Series
Middle Ages
Estelle Williams
1992
Film
Color Adjustment
Narrator
1992
Film
Taking Back Our Town
Emelda West
2001
Film
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
1999
Film
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
Indigo
1996
Film
Uptight
Laurie
1968
Film
The Tall Target
Rachel
1951
Film
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Mrs. Grimes
1984
Film
The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll
Miss Candy
2011
Film
No. 2
Nanna Maria
2006
Film
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
Self
1998
Film
The Ernest Green Story
Lydia Wilson
1993
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
Self
1989
Film
A Storm in Summer
Grandmother
2000
Film
The Jackie Robinson Story
Rae Robinson
1950
Film
No Way Out
Connie Brooks (uncredited)
1950
Film
America
Mrs. Harper
2009
Film
Take a Giant Step
Christine
1959
Film
Video Girl
Valerie
2011
Film
Sports on the Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
1997
Film
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
(archive footage)
2004
Film
Mr. and Mrs. Loving
Sophia
1996
Film
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Self
1999
Film
Gone Are the Days!
Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins
1963
Film
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
Jackie's Mother
1990
On Merit
Narrator (voice)
1972
Film
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Self
2013
Film
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks
Self
2004
Film
Zora is My Name!
Zora Neale Hurston
1990
Film
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Grandmother Baxter
1979
Film
Black Girl
Netta's mother
1972
Film
Decoration Day
Rowena
1990
Series
Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years
Narrator
2002
Film
All God's Children
Irene Whitfield
1980
Film
After Goodbye
Narrator
1993
Film
Love at Large
Corrine Dart
1990
Diamonds on the Silver Screen
Self
Film
St. Louis Blues
Elizabeth
1958
Christianity: The First 1000 Years
Herself - Narrator
1998
Film
Whitewash
Grandmother (voice)
1994
Film
The Way Back Home
Maude
2006
Film
In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
Herself
2007
Neighbours
Vicky Kingsbury
1966
Film
The Balcony
Thief
1963
Film
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters
1972
Film
Passing Glory
Mommit Porter
1999
Film
It's Good to Be Alive
Ruth Campanella
1974
Film
All About Us
Ms. Ella
2007
Film
Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
Self
2002
Film
Betty and Coretta
Narrator
2013
Film
The Unfinished Journey
Narrator (voice)
1999
Film
The Wall
Mrs. Mitchell (segment "The Badge")
1998
Film
The Fight Never Ends
1948
Film
Finding Buck McHenry
Mrs. Henry
2000
Film
That Man of Mine
Joan
1946
Film
A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School
Narrator (voice)
2009
Film
Poitier's Walter Lee
Self (archive footage)
2018
Film
Deadlock
Lucinda
1969
Film
What a Guy
1948
Film
Virgin Island
Ruth
1959
Love in Exile
2026
Film
The Sheriff
Sue Ann Lucas
1971
Film
The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six
1980
Film
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Mary Tyrone
1982
Film
Tuesday Morning Ride
Jennie
1995
Film
Go Man Go
Irma Jackson
1954
Film
Love in Syncopation
1946
Film
Politics of Love
2011
Film
Countdown at Kusini
Leah Matanzima
1976
Film
Easy to Get
Drugstore Girl
1947
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
Self
2007
Film
Wedding Band
Julia Augustine
1974
Film
Jazztime Tale
Narrator (voice)
1991
Now is the Time
Self
1967
Chelsea D.H.O.
Dr. Bianca Pearson
1973
Film
Steam
Doris
2007
Film
Discovering William Greaves
Self
2006
A Time To Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner
Narrator
1998