What was Diahann Carroll's Net Worth?
Diahann Carroll was an actress, singer, and model who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of her death in October 2019 at the age of 84. She gained prominence in the 1950s with roles in black-cast Hollywood films such as Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess. Carroll won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for No Strings, becoming the first African-American woman to receive this honor. She also won a Golden Globe for her role in the TV sitcom Julia and earned an Academy Award nomination for the 1974 film Claudine.
Early Life and Education
Born Carol Diann Johnson on July 17, 1935, in the Bronx, New York City, Carroll was the daughter of a nurse and a subway conductor. She grew up in Harlem and attended Music and Art High School. Her parents supported her interests by enrolling her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By age 15, she was modeling for Ebony magazine. Carroll later studied sociology at New York University but dropped out to pursue a show business career.
Career Beginnings
At 18, Carroll competed in the DuMont Television Network talent show Chance of a Lifetime and won for her rendition of "Why Was I Born?" This exposure led to engagements at various New York City nightclubs.
Film Career
In 1954, Carroll debuted in the musical Carmen Jones, starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. She reunited with director Otto Preminger for Porgy and Bess (1959), starring Dandridge and Sidney Poitier. In the 1960s, she appeared in Goodbye Again and Paris Blues, and in the drama Hurry Sundown, with Jane Fonda and Michael Caine. In 1974, she gave an acclaimed performance in Claudine alongside James Earl Jones, earning an Academy Award nomination. Her later films included The Five Heartbeats, Eve's Bayou, Peeples, and The Masked Saint.
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Television Career
Carroll gained recognition from various TV appearances, including on The Red Skelton Hour and General Electric Theater. In 1968, she starred in NBC's Julia, the first weekly series to feature an African-American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Carroll won a Golden Globe and earned an Emmy nomination for her performance as Julia Baker. The show ran until 1971. She also appeared in Roots: The Next Generations and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and hosted The Diahann Carroll Show. In the 1980s, she starred in Sister, Sister, joined the cast of Dynasty, and appeared on The Colbys. During the 1990s, Carroll had roles in Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years and Lonesome Dove: The Series, among other TV films. Her later TV credits included roles in Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, The Court, Grey's Anatomy, and White Collar.
Theater Career
Carroll debuted on Broadway in 1954's House of Flowers and won a Tony for 1962's No Strings. She returned to the stage in the late 1970s with Same Time, Next Year and in the 1980s with Agnes of God. In the 1990s, she starred in Love Letters, Sunset Boulevard, and The Vagina Monologues. Her final theater credits were Bubbling Brown Sugar, On Golden Pond, and Both Sides Now.
Relationships
Carroll was married four times. Her first marriage was to record producer Monte Kay in 1956, with whom she had a daughter, Suzanne. They divorced in 1963. Carroll also dated actor Sidney Poitier and was engaged to British TV host David Frost in the early 1970s. She married Fred Glusman in 1973 and divorced him months later due to physical abuse. Carroll's third husband was Jet magazine editor Robert DeLeon, who died in a car accident in 1977. Her fourth husband was singer Vic Damone. They married in 1987, separated in 1991, reconciled, and divorced in 1996.
Death
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, Carroll underwent radiation therapy and was cancer-free. She passed away from cancer in October 2019 at her West Hollywood home, aged 84.
