Juanita Moore

Juanita Moore was an African-American actress who joined the film industry in the early 1950s during an era when only a few black people were given the chance to be part of major studio films. It was fortunate for Juanita because her roles started improving when Hollywood started becoming more sensitive towards injustice. Moore got an Academy Award nomination in 1959 for her role in Imitation of Life. The decade that followed gave Hollywood a number of sociological upheavals and Juanita benefited from it tremendously.

She is given credit as an icon in black-oriented movies during the ‘60s and ‘70s. She had roles in Uptight, Abby, and Thomasine & Bushrod. She also played a major role in Walt Disney’s The Kid. Throughout her career, Juanita was able to garner more than 50 movie projects. As she had a stable career, she also had a stable married life for 50 years. Moore passed away in 2014 at the age of 99, leaving behind a continuing legacy through her grandson, Kirk Kelleykhan.