To be cast as the fiery lead in Carmen Jones (1954), Dorothy Dandridge knew she had to make an impression. The director wasn’t sure she was fierce enough, but when Dandridge stormed into his office wearing the black and red costume pictured, she dispelled any doubts. The style, which she devised, won her the role and became the film’s signature look.
When she was the first Black woman to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine, she wore the legendary outfit. Halle Berry recreated the iconic look for her role in the biopic, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won an Emmy.
Throughout her career, Dandridge overcame discrimination and fought racial stereotypes. She refused to play the maid and mammy roles available to Black women in the early decades of cinema. While the headstrong and unapologetically sensual Carmen Jones may have been labelled a “hip-swinging floosie” by her rivals, the character made Dandridge a fashion icon and offered a new way to see Black women on screen. Dandridge became the first Black star to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for Carmen Jones, breaking down racial barriers and inspiring generations of Black actors to follow in her footsteps.
Honouring Dorothy Dandridge
This vintage silver gown transforms Halle Berry into her idol in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999). Ever since she saw Carmen Jones (1954) as a teenager, Berry had looked up to Dandridge and eventually won an Emmy for her portrayal of the trailblazing actor. In 2002, 48 years after Dandridge was nominated for the award, Berry made history as the first Black star to win the Oscar for Best Actress. In her speech, Berry acknowledged Dandridge and “every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened”.
Watermelon women, mammies and maids
The ‘watermelon woman’ that Cheryl Dunye seeks to uncover in The Watermelon Woman represents the kind of roles that Dorothy Dandridge refused. From the 1930s to the late 1950s, most roles for Black stars were as maids or ‘mammies’. Though Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939), these roles reinforced stereotypes of Black servitude and the actors who played them were largely forgotten. Halle Berry dedicating her Oscar to these “nameless, faceless women of colour” acknowledges their erasure from cinema history.
A scene from Carmen Jones featuring Dorothy Dandridge in the iconic black and red costume.
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Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Previously on display
1 October 2023
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
193584
Curatorial section
Goddess → Crafting the ideal → DD & HB