Ethel Waters

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American singer who, on her 14th birthday, sang at a local club and had a job by 17, making nine dollars a week working "from dusk to exhaustion." She had worked from the time she was 12, making $4.75 a week as a chambermaid. An illegitimate child, she was raised in the ghetto, stealing food to survive. Eventually she went on to do clubs, theater, radio, records, Broadway shows and movies. Known as Sweet Mama Stringbean, she was the first black woman to receive star billing on the American stage and screen. She debuted onstage in 1927, receiving great billings and success and achieving an equal amount of success with her film career. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Pinky" in 1949. She gave another memorable performance in "The Member of the Wedding," 1952, as well as later starring in the TV series, "Beulah." In March 1951, her first autobiography, "His Eye is on the Sparrow," was chosen as the Book of the Month Club's selection and a second autobiography, "To Me It’s Wonderful," was released in 1972. Waters died of a heart ailment on 1 September 1977 in Chatsworth, California. Link to Wikipedia biography