Lena Horne

Lena Horne
Horne in 1946
Born	Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (1917-06-30)June 30, 1917 Brooklyn
Died	May 9, 2010(2010-05-09) (aged 92) New York City
Occupations	Singer dancer actress activist
Years active	1933–2003
Spouses	Louis Jordan Jones ​ ​ (m. 1937; div. 1944)​ Lennie Hayton ​ ​ (m. 1947; died 1971)​
Children	2
Relatives	Jenny Lumet (granddaughter) Jake Cannavale (great-grandson)
Musical career
Origin	Harlem, New York City
Genres	R&B soul Broadway traditional pop vocal jazz
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	MGM RCA Victor United Artists Blue Note Qwest/Warner Bros.
Musical artist

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre.

Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving on to Hollywood and Broadway. A groundbreaking African-American performer, Horne advocated for civil rights and took part in the March on Washington in August 1963. Later she returned to her roots as a nightclub performer and continued to work on television while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than 300 performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in the show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, retreating from the public eye in 2000.