Ruby Deen, critically acclaimed actress and civil rights leader whose career spanned across TV and film, has passed away at 91.
Nora Davis Day, Ruby Dee‘s daughter, told the Associated Press on Thursday that her mother died at home in New York.
Ruby Dee has a long career in Hollywood. She received an Oscar nomination for her best supporting role in the 2007 hit feature film “American Gangster”. She previously won an Emmy and several other awards.
In 2001, Ruby Dee said, “I think you mustn’t tell your body, you mustn’t tell your soul, ‘I’m going to retire.’ You may be changing your life emphasis, but there’s still things that you have in mind to do that now seems the right time to do. I really don’t believe in retiring as long as you can breathe.”
The actress was surrounded by her family and friends when she passed away, according to her daughter.
Ruby Dee, met her husband on Broadway during the 1940s and together they became civil rights activists. “We used the arts as part of our struggle,” she said at an appearance in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2006. “Ossie said he knew he had to conduct himself differently with skill and thought.”
In 1998, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a dual autobiography, “With Ossie and Ruby: In this Life Together”.
Ruby Dee is survived by three children, Nora, Hasna and Guy, and seven grandchildren.
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