A leading black Broadway performer in her heyday, she was personally chosen by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein to perform the roles she played in South Pacific and Flower Drum Song.
Although a light-skinned Afro-American, her two most famous roles saw her cast as a Pacific Islander ("South Pacific") and an Asian-American ("Flower Drum Song"), respectively. She reprised her roles in both productions in the movie versions.
In the early 30s, she was a special soloist and assistant director for the Hall Johnson Choir.
Inspired as a child by blues legend Bessie Smith, she only recorded one album of blues in her lifetime.
Married a young actor, Clement Hall, while in her teens. He died in the 1920s. They had no children and she never remarried.
Received a 1950 Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical in the Broadway stage version of "South Pacific". She sings in the cast album, but was dubbed in the film version by the actress from the London production.
Received a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical in the Broadway stage version of "South Pacific". She sings in the cast album, but was dubbed in the film version by the actress from the London production.
The role of Bloody Mary is based on the only true-life person whom James A. Michener met in Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, in the South Pacific. She was Tonkinese. Tonkin, at the time, was in China, and after the French left Vietnam, that area became part of North Vietnam. She arrived in the South Pacific to work on a French plantation owner's farm.
Trained classically at Juilliard.