Activist and actress Ruby Dee dies at 91

Obama says star 'opened doors for all' as a leader in civil rights movement

Oscar-nominated actress Ruby Dee, who was also known for her activism during the US civil rights movement, has died at the age of 91.

The stage, television and film star - a pioneer among America's black actresses - died on Wednesday at her home in New Rochelle, New York, with her family at her side, her agent Michael Livingston said.

The diminutive actress - a native of Cleveland, Ohio - worked alongside her late husband Ossie Davis in some of her most memorable roles, in a career that began in the 1940s.

US President Barack Obama said he would never forget watching Dee perform as an irascible neighborhood watchdog in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing on his first date with his wife Michelle.

Dee "captivated and challenged us", he said.

"Through her remarkable performances, Ruby paved the way for generations of black actors and actresses, and inspired African-American women across our country."

Dee was a student at the American Negro Theatre in New York's Harlem neighborhood that produced stars such as Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.

She played more than 100 roles, including in the 1950s film The Jackie Robinson Story and the late 1970s television adaptation of Alex Haley's epic novel Roots.

The actress received an Oscar nomination in 2008 for her small but memorable cameo in Ridley Scott's crime drama American Gangster.

Civil rights leader

Dee and her late husband were ardent civil rights activists. Dee was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality as well as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Their leadership in the civil rights movement "helped open new doors of opportunity for all", Obama said.

The couple also served together as masters of ceremony during the historic 1963 March on Washington led by civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr, who was a close friend of the couple's, as was firebrand activist Malcolm X.

At the Tony Awards in New York on Sunday, black actress Audra McDonald - who made history in winning her sixth Tony - paid tribute to Dee, Diahann Carroll, Maya Angelou and Billie Holiday in her acceptance speech.

In Dee's honor, Broadway theaters were scheduled to dim their lights for a minute on Friday night.

(China Daily 06/14/2014 page6)