Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey was born and grew up in southeastern Virginia. She started singing onstage at 15, and began pursuing a career in entertainment after winning a singing contest at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater. Bailey worked in black nightclubs on the East Coast and performed for the troops with the USO during WWII. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Bailey starred in various films and Broadway shows, including the immensely popular all-black Broadway version of Hello Dolly!, for which she won a Tony Award. In the 1970s, Bailey had her own TV show. In 1985, at age 67, Bailey graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in theology. She died of coronary artery disease at age 72.