born June 30, 1917, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. singer and actress.
In her youth she was a dancer at Harlem's Cotton Club , and by age 18 she was singing with popular bands. She starred in many films, including Stormy Weather (1943) and The Wiz (1978). Her album Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria (1957) was a great success, as was her appearance in the musical Jamaica (1957). Her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (1981), was hailed as her masterpiece. She continued to perform and record into the 1990s.