Butterfly McQueen

Butterfly McQueen was a public-school student in Augusta, Georgia, and attended high school in Long Island, New York. Together with Katherine Dunham, Janet Collins, and Geoffrey Holder, she learned how to dance. She performed dance numbers with the Venezuela Negro Youth Group. She made her stage debut in Brown Sugar, which was directed by George Abbott, for whom she collaborated in numerous stages shows. She appeared as the shop girls’ assistant Lulu in The Women back in 1939.

But her most popular role was as the irresponsible and whiny Prissy from Gone with the Wind. She had an acting credit as a funny maid role in Flame of Barbary Coast and Mildred Pierce. As offers for acting roles eased, she then shifted her focus and studied political science in 1975. With a net worth of $5 million, McQueen lived frugally and anonymously in a quaint one-bedroom abode. She met her tragic end as she received a high degree burn from an unfortunate accident.