I discovered this actress and singer by listening to old time classics: Stormy Weather (1943)..

Lena Horne_

Lena Horne was the first African American who signed a long -term studio contract:starting at the age of sixteen,in the chorus line of the cotton club,she fought racial stereotypes of maids and buttlers..

Born in 1917,Lena horne is considered to be one of the most famous performers of the 40's and 50's.In Harlem's Cotton club,she was introduced to Billie Holliday,Duke Ellington ..

She also performed in New York night clubs,on Broadway and in Barnet's Swing Band..Black actors at that time were kept from playig serious roles and she was compelled to play small parts.

"Unfortunately,I didn't get much chance to act",she said in a pbs interview.
"Cabin in the sky" and "stormy weather"(1943) were the movies in which "she was involved in the plot".

In 1963,she "participated in the march on Washington and went to rallies throughout the country for the National council For Negro Women".