Carmen de Lavallade

About

American actress, choreographer, and dancer known for her performances on Broadway and at the Lester Horton Dance Theater where she studied painting, acting, music, set design, and costuming in addition to ballet, modern, and ethnic dance.

Before Fame

She began taking ballet lessons when she was sixteen and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles.

Trivia

She is a recipient of the Black History Month Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rosetta Lenoire award, the Bessie Award, and the Capezio Dance Award, among others. The Juilliard School gave her an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

Family Life

She married Geoffrey Holder, and the two had a son named Leo. She was born to Creole parents, but primarily raised by her aunt.

Associated With

She was in Duke Ellington's musical Drum is a Woman.