Name at birth: Ruby Ann Wallace

Ruby Dee has been a star of stage and screen since her 1946 Broadway debut in Anna Lucasta. She has since appeared hundreds of times in plays, movies and television shows, frequently co-starring with her husband, actor Ossie Davis. The pair, married since 1948, are also famous for their off-screen activism and work on behalf of African-Americans in the performing arts. Dee's films include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), A Raisin in the Sun (1961, with Sidney Poitier), Do the Right Thing (1988, directed by Spike Lee) and Baby Geniuses (1999).