Ruby Dee
Acting
122
Acting Credits
Biography
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Do the Right Thing (1989) and American Gangster (2007).
Known For
Filmography
Love in Exile
2026
Hollywood Black
2024
as Self (archive footage)
Poitier's Walter Lee
2018
as Self (archive footage)
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
as Self
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal
2013
as Self
Betty and Coretta
2013
as Narrator
A Thousand Words
2012
as Annie McCall
Politics of Love
2011
Video Girl
2011
as Valerie
The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll
2011
as Miss Candy
America
2009
as Mrs. Harper
A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School
2009
as Narrator (voice)
American Gangster
2007
as Mama Lucas
Steam
2007
as Doris
In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
2007
as Herself
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
2007
as Self
All About Us
2007
as Ms. Ella
No. 2
2006
as Nanna Maria
Discovering William Greaves
2006
as Self
The Way Back Home
2006
as Maude
Their Eyes Were Watching God
2005
as Nanny
Iconoclasts
2005
as Self
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks
2004
as Self
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2004
as (archive footage)
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2003
Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
2002
as Self
Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years
2002
as Narrator
Feast of All Saints
2001
as Elsie Claviere
Taking Back Our Town
2001
as Emelda West
Finding Buck McHenry
2000
as Mrs. Henry
A Storm in Summer
2000
as Grandmother
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
as Mary Wilson
Passing Glory
1999
as Mommit Porter
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
1999
as Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Baby Geniuses
1999
as Margo
The Unfinished Journey
1999
as Narrator (voice)
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
1999
as Self
Little Bill
1999
The Wall
1998
as Mrs. Mitchell (segment "The Badge")
A Time To Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner
1998
as Narrator
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
1998
as Self
Christianity: The First 1000 Years
1998
as Herself - Narrator
A Simple Wish
1997
as Hortence
Sports on the Silver Screen
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Mr. and Mrs. Loving
1996
as Sophia
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
1996
as Indigo
Just Cause
1995
as Evangeline Ferguson
Tuesday Morning Ride
1995
as Jennie
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
as Grandma (voice)
Whitewash
1994
as Grandmother (voice)
The Stand
1994
as Mother Abagail Freemantle
Touched by an Angel
1994
as LaBelle Springbelt
Cop & ½
1993
as Rachel
After Goodbye
1993
as Narrator
The Ernest Green Story
1993
as Lydia Wilson
Color Adjustment
1992
as Narrator
Middle Ages
1992
as Estelle Williams
Jungle Fever
1991
as Lucinda Purify
Jazztime Tale
1991
as Narrator (voice)
Love at Large
1990
as Corrine Dart
Decoration Day
1990
as Rowena
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
1990
as Jackie's Mother
Zora is My Name!
1990
as Zora Neale Hurston
Do the Right Thing
1989
as Mother Sister
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
1989
as Self
China Beach
1988
Lincoln
1988
as Elizabeth Keckley
American Experience
1988
as Narrator (voice)
Spenser: For Hire
1985
The Golden Girls
1985
as Mammy Watkins
The Atlanta Child Murders
1985
as Faye Williams
Go Tell It on the Mountain
1984
as Mrs. Grimes
Reading Rainbow
1983
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Cat People
1982
as Female
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1982
as Mary Tyrone
American Playhouse
1982
as Mrs. Grimes
American Playhouse
1982
as Zora Neale Hurston
All God's Children
1980
as Irene Whitfield
The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six
1980
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1979
as Grandmother Baxter
Roots: The Next Generations
1979
as Queen Haley
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
Countdown at Kusini
1976
as Leah Matanzima
It's Good to Be Alive
1974
as Ruth Campanella
Wedding Band
1974
as Julia Augustine
Police Woman
1974
Chelsea D.H.O.
1973
as Dr. Bianca Pearson
Buck and the Preacher
1972
as Ruth
Black Girl
1972
as Netta's mother
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
1972
as Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters
On Merit
1972
as Narrator (voice)
The Sheriff
1971
as Sue Ann Lucas
Great Performances
1971
as Self
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
as Self (archive footage)
Deadlock
1969
as Lucinda
Uptight
1968
as Laurie
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
The Incident
1967
as Joan Robinson
Now is the Time
1967
as Self
Neighbours
1966
as Vicky Kingsbury
Gone Are the Days!
1963
as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins
The Balcony
1963
as Thief
The Great Adventure
1963
as Harriet Tubman
The Fugitive
1963
as Laura Smith
A Raisin in the Sun
1961
as Ruth Younger
The Defenders
1961
as Catherine Collins
Virgin Island
1959
as Ruth
Take a Giant Step
1959
as Christine
St. Louis Blues
1958
as Elizabeth
Edge of the City
1957
as Lucy Tyler
Armchair Theatre
1956
as Vicky Kingsbury
Go Man Go
1954
as Irma Jackson
The Oscars
1953
as Self
The Tall Target
1951
as Rachel
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Rowena Finch
The Jackie Robinson Story
1950
as Rae Robinson
No Way Out
1950
as Connie Brooks (uncredited)
The Fight Never Ends
1948
What a Guy
1948
Easy to Get
1947
as Drugstore Girl
That Man of Mine
1946
as Joan
Love in Syncopation
1946