Not only was Lena Horne a gifted performer in the fields of music and acting, but she also devoted a considerable portion of her life to the struggle for civil rights. Lena Horne passed away in 2002. It’s conceivable that her alluring rendition of the song “Stormy Weather” in the 1943 film of the same name is what brought her the most attention from the general audience. Horne was honored with the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1979, the Kennedy Center Honor in 1984, and induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1991 as a result of the significant contributions she made to the performing arts throughout the course of her career. In addition, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame honored her with the Spingarn Medal in the year 1991 when she was inducted into the hall. Additionally, in the same year, 1991, Horne was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Before coming to New York City in order to pursue a career in the entertainment industry there, Horne lived in the cities of Fort Valley and Atlanta, both of which are located in the state of Georgia.
She spent a chunk of her youth in both of these towns before moving to New York City. She devoted her entire life to using her platform to speak out against racism and injustice, and as a result, she is still looked to as a source of inspiration by a significant number of people in today’s society. Her life was dedicated to using her platform to speak out against racism and injustice. Edna Scottron and Edwin “Teddy” Horne became parents for the first time on June 30, 1917, and they named their daughter Lena Calhoun Horne. The birth took place in a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in New York City. They thought the name Lena Calhoun Horne would be perfect for their kid. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and as a consequence, she lived with both sets of her grandparents for the most of her early years. Her parents remarried when she was an adult. Her grandfather passed away when Horne was only eight years old, and not long after that, the young girl relocated to the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn to live with an aunt.
Horne began her professional career as a vocalist while she was just a teenager, beginning her career in the nightclubs of Harlem and establishing herself as a performer. It was then that Noble Sissle, who was the bandleader at the time, became aware of her presence and took attention. When she was only 16 years old, she gave her first performance in a professional setting. At the time, she was performing with Sissle’s band. Not long after that, she began to make cameos in a variety of revues that were put on at the Cotton Club. In 1934, Lena Horne became a member of the very first all-Black ensemble to perform in the Ziegfeld Follies. The year in question was the one in which she became famous. There, she was introduced to the saxophone Lennie Hayton for the very first time. Lennie Hayton would later go on to become her future husband. In 1937, when there were still many regions in the country where it was illegal to marry someone of a different race, the couple decided to have their wedding behind closed doors. This decision was made because there were still many regions in the country where it was illegal to marry someone of a different race.
Her film career began to take off in the early 1940s when she began starring in a variety of movies, such as Panama Hattie (1942), Cabin in the Sky (1943), and Stormy Weather (1943), for which she is arguably most well-known. Her film career began to take off in the early 1940s when she began starring in a variety of movies. Her professional life did not get off to a good start until the early 1940s. When she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943, she was one of the first African-American artists to do so. The contract was for a lengthy period of time and it was with a prominent Hollywood studio. Due to the fact that she did this, she is now considered a pioneer in this sector. She is now recognized as a trailblazer in her field as a result of the fact that she carried this out. Because of the terms of her contract with MGM, Horne was only able to appear in films that starred white actors and actresses. This was because MGM only allowed her to play supporting roles in their productions. As a result of this, she was frequently cast in roles that needed her to perform activities that were associated with housework around the house. In 1951, she was dismissed from her role in the movie adaptation of the musical Show Boat because she objected to the decision of the production company to have her character utter a racial insult over the course of the film. She was of the opinion that the choice should not have been made since it was racist and would offend black people.
Horne was considered to be one of the most popular performers of her era due to the fact that she possessed outstanding good looks, amazing ability, and a dominating presence on stage. This was the case despite the fact that she was only given a limited number of roles to play throughout the course of her career. After that, she began performing as the headliner at a number of renowned nightclubs and also set off on a tour around the country with her own orchestra. In the 1960s, she began to take a more active part in the civil rights movement and made use of her platform to speak out against injustice. She did this during the time period of the 1960s. She was a trailblazer in the fight for the right of women to vote. In the year 1984, she was presented with the Kennedy Center Honor, and in the year 1991, she was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Both of these honors were awarded to her. Both of these honors were bestowed to her as a result of the significant contributions that she has made to the world of music throughout the years.