Nina Mae McKinney

American actress and singer, born in 1913. Discovered in the chorus of Blackbirds of 1928, she was cast as Chloe in King Vidor's Hallelujah (1929) and became known as "the Black Garbo." MGM signed her but had little idea what to do with a Black leading lady in the segregated studio system, and she spent much of her career in Europe and on the stage. She is regarded as a pioneer of Black cinema.