Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Do the Right Thing (1989) and American Gangster (2007).

KNOWN FOR

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2007
Great Performances
1982
Touched by an Angel
1999
American Experience
1990
The Dick Cavett Show
1970
The Fugitive
1963
American Playhouse
1985
The Golden Girls
1990
The Defenders
1965
Police Woman
1975
Reading Rainbow
1984
The Oscars
2008

FILMOGRAPHY

All
Movies
TV
Acting
124
Writing
2
Sound
1
2026
Love in Exile
2024
Hollywood Black
as Self (archive footage)
2018
Poitier's Walter Lee
as Self (archive footage)
2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
as Self
2013
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal
as Self
2013
Betty and Coretta
as Narrator
2012
A Thousand Words
as Annie McCall
2011
Politics of Love
2011
Video Girl
as Valerie
2011
The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll
as Miss Candy
2009
America
as Mrs. Harper
2009
A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School
as Narrator (voice)
2008
The Oscars
as Self
2007
American Gangster
as Mama Lucas
2007
Steam
as Doris
2007
In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
as Herself
2007
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
as Self
2007
All About Us
as Ms. Ella
2007
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
as Mary Wilson
2007
Iconoclasts
as Self
2006
No. 2
as Nanna Maria
2006
Discovering William Greaves
as Self
2006
The Way Back Home
as Maude
2005
Their Eyes Were Watching God
as Nanny
2004
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks
as Self
2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as (archive footage)
2004
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self
2003
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2002
Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
as Self
2002
Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years
as Narrator
2001
Feast of All Saints
as Elsie Claviere
2001
Taking Back Our Town
as Emelda West
2000
Finding Buck McHenry
as Mrs. Henry
2000
A Storm in Summer
as Grandmother
2000
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Grandma (voice)
1999
Passing Glory
as Mommit Porter
1999
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
as Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
1999
Baby Geniuses
as Margo
1999
The Unfinished Journey
as Narrator (voice)
1999
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Self
1999
Little Bill
1999
Touched by an Angel
as LaBelle Springbelt
1998
The Wall
as Mrs. Mitchell (segment "The Badge")
1998
A Time To Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner
as Narrator
1998
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
as Self
1998
Christianity: The First 1000 Years
as Herself - Narrator
1997
A Simple Wish
as Hortence
1997
Sports on the Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage)
1996
Mr. and Mrs. Loving
as Sophia
1996
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
as Indigo
1995
Just Cause
as Evangeline Ferguson
1995
Tuesday Morning Ride
as Jennie
1994
Whitewash
as Grandmother (voice)
1994
The Stand
as Mother Abagail Freemantle
1993
Cop & ½
as Rachel
1993
After Goodbye
as Narrator
1993
The Ernest Green Story
as Lydia Wilson
1992
Color Adjustment
as Narrator
1992
Middle Ages
as Estelle Williams
1991
Jungle Fever
as Lucinda Purify
1991
Jazztime Tale
as Narrator (voice)
1990
Love at Large
as Corrine Dart
1990
Decoration Day
as Rowena
1990
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
as Jackie's Mother
1990
Zora is My Name!
as Zora Neale Hurston
1990
The Golden Girls
as Mammy Watkins
1990
China Beach
1990
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Rowena Finch
1990
American Experience
as Narrator (voice)
1990
American Playhouse
as Zora Neale Hurston
1989
Do the Right Thing
as Mother Sister
1989
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
as Self
1988
Lincoln
as Elizabeth Keckley
1987
Spenser: For Hire
1985
The Atlanta Child Murders
as Faye Williams
1985
American Playhouse
as Mrs. Grimes
1984
Go Tell It on the Mountain
as Mrs. Grimes
1984
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Narrator (voice)
1982
Cat People
as Female
1982
Long Day's Journey Into Night
as Mary Tyrone
1982
Great Performances
as Self
1980
All God's Children
as Irene Whitfield
1980
The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six
1979
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
as Grandmother Baxter
1979
Roots: The Next Generations
as Queen Haley
1976
Countdown at Kusini
as Leah Matanzima
1975
Police Woman
1974
It's Good to Be Alive
as Ruth Campanella
1974
Wedding Band
as Julia Augustine
1973
Chelsea D.H.O.
as Dr. Bianca Pearson
1972
Buck and the Preacher
as Ruth
1972
Black Girl
as Netta's mother
1972
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
as Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters
1972
On Merit
as Narrator (voice)
1971
The Sheriff
as Sue Ann Lucas
1970
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
as Self (archive footage)
1970
The Dick Cavett Show
as Self - Guest
1969
Deadlock
as Lucinda
1968
Uptight
as Laurie
1967
The Incident
as Joan Robinson
1967
Now is the Time
as Self
1966
Neighbours
as Vicky Kingsbury
1966
Armchair Theatre
as Vicky Kingsbury
1965
The Defenders
as Catherine Collins
1963
Gone Are the Days!
as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins
1963
The Balcony
as Thief
1963
The Great Adventure
as Harriet Tubman
1963
The Fugitive
as Laura Smith
1961
A Raisin in the Sun
as Ruth Younger
1959
Virgin Island
as Ruth
1959
Take a Giant Step
as Christine
1958
St. Louis Blues
as Elizabeth
1957
Edge of the City
as Lucy Tyler
1954
Go Man Go
as Irma Jackson
1951
The Tall Target
as Rachel
1950
The Jackie Robinson Story
as Rae Robinson
1950
No Way Out
as Connie Brooks (uncredited)
1948
The Fight Never Ends
1948
What a Guy
1947
Easy to Get
as Drugstore Girl
1946
That Man of Mine
as Joan
1946
Love in Syncopation
Diamonds on the Silver Screen
as Self
The Stand