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Acting

Ruby Dee

Career: Active from 1946 to 2013, busiest in 1999 with 5 main titles.

Leading roles: 41
top three billing

Average score: 62/100

Highest rated: Do the Right Thing
87/100

What stands out

Compared with the average well-known movie, over 47 of their titles. Select a trait to filter titles.

Ruby Dee Catalog average

Rarely in their work

Scare
1.6, average 2.6
Uncanny
1.5, average 2.5
Absurdist Humor
1.1, average 2.0
Adrenaline
3.9, average 4.8

Main genres

Select a genre to see those titles.

Recurring tags

Character-Driven 5
Social Commentary 4
Character Study 4
Social Justice 3
Educational 3
Racial Injustice 2
Overcoming Adversity 2
Educational Value 2
Contemporary Issues 2
Psychological Suspense 2
Crime Investigation 2
Family-Friendly 2

Works often with

People in at least two of their main titles.

Movies and TV shows

93

Type

Role

Score

Decade

Genre

Group by

2010s

4 titles · average score 48

Betty and Coretta

68

as Narrator

A Thousand Words

33

as Annie McCall

Video Girl

60

as Valerie

The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll

33

as Miss Candy

2000s

15 titles · average score 59

America

55

as Mrs. Harper

A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School

as Narrator (voice)

Steam

17

as Doris

American Gangster

79

as Mama Lucas

No. 2

62

as Nanna Maria

The Way Back Home

63

as Maude

Their Eyes Were Watching God

67

as Nanny

Taking Back Our Town

as Emelda West

Feast of All Saints

65

as Elsie Claviere

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

68

TV show · as Mary Wilson

Finding Buck McHenry

65

as Mrs. Henry

A Storm in Summer

63

as Grandmother

1990s

27 titles · average score 58

Little Bill

52

TV show

Baby Geniuses

18

as Margo

The Unfinished Journey

59

as Narrator (voice)

A Simple Wish

35

as Hortence

Captive Heart: The James Mink Story

61

as Indigo

Mr. and Mrs. Loving

71

as Sophia

Just Cause

48

as Evangeline Ferguson

Whitewash

as Grandmother (voice)

Cop & ½

28

as Rachel

Color Adjustment

73

as Narrator

Jungle Fever

73

as Lucinda Purify

Decoration Day

70

as Rowena

1980s

13 titles · average score 70

Do the Right Thing

87

as Mother Sister

Lincoln

72

TV show · as Elizabeth Keckley

American Experience

75

TV show · as Narrator (voice)

China Beach

77

TV show

The Atlanta Child Murders

62

TV show · as Faye Williams

The Golden Girls

83

TV show · as Mammy Watkins

Spenser: For Hire

50

TV show

Go Tell It on the Mountain

63

as Mrs. Grimes

American Playhouse

69

TV show · as Mrs. Grimes / Zora Neale Hurston

Cat People

60

as Female

Long Day's Journey Into Night

as Mary Tyrone

All God's Children

as Irene Whitfield

1970s

12 titles · average score 58

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

62

as Grandmother Baxter

Roots: The Next Generations

51

TV show · as Queen Haley

Countdown at Kusini

as Leah Matanzima

It's Good to Be Alive

as Ruth Campanella

Police Woman

43

TV show

Wedding Band

as Julia Augustine

as Dr. Bianca Pearson

Buck and the Preacher

61

as Ruth

To Be Young, Gifted and Black

as Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters

Black Girl

68

as Netta's mother

as Narrator (voice)

The Sheriff

63

as Sue Ann Lucas

1960s

10 titles · average score 75

Deadlock

as Lucinda

Uptight

77

as Laurie

The Incident

83

as Joan Robinson

as Vicky Kingsbury

Gone Are the Days!

71

as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins

The Fugitive

84

TV show · as Laura Smith

The Great Adventure

TV show · as Harriet Tubman

The Balcony

55

as Thief

A Raisin in the Sun

85

as Ruth Younger

The Defenders

71

TV show · as Catherine Collins

1950s

10 titles · average score 69

Take a Giant Step

69

as Christine

Virgin Island

as Ruth

St. Louis Blues

74

as Elizabeth

Edge of the City

72

as Lucy Tyler

Armchair Theatre

68

TV show · as Vicky Kingsbury

Go Man Go

59

as Irma Jackson

The Tall Target

58

as Rachel

Hallmark Hall of Fame

84

TV show · as Rowena Finch

The Jackie Robinson Story

61

as Rae Robinson

No Way Out

80

as Connie Brooks (uncredited)

1940s

2 titles

Easy to Get

as Drugstore Girl

That Man of Mine

as Joan