When you hear the name Diahann Carroll you think of a mellifluous voice contrasted with a bunch of no-nonsense badass characters that you wanted to be like. She was someone who embodied the word diva in the best possible way. Proven as a force to be reckoned with several times over, the actress and singer was an originator of the beauty icon.
Best known for her roles in Julia (where she was the first Black woman to star in her own show), as Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty, and for younger generations, as Marion Gilbert, Whitley Gilbert’s mother on A Different World, Carroll helped change the world’s view on what Black women are capable of.
She rocked everything with confidence, from sleek pixie cuts to baby bangs, and winged liner to dramatic falsies. Carroll wore blue and purple eyeshadow when Black women were told that those weren’t colors for their skin tones. And she wore pink lipstick, red lipstick, and nudes like a queen, blazing the trail for the influencers who wear color with no boundaries today.
Every time she emerged to the public, she was flawless, even throughout years when color options in the beauty industry were limited for Black women.
Carroll mastered all of this before the beauty influencers of today were even in diapers. She has been a beauty and style inspiration for Black women in Hollywood who came after her, including Whitney Houston, Halle Berry, and Angela Bassett. Over the years red lips became her signature, and her style evolved with the times as she continued to give lewks on red carpets all over the world.
So as we mourn her passing, we also take this opportunity to
celebrate her life, her work, and her contribution to the arts, including the
fashion and beauty industries. Always a beauty who we will look to for inspiration,
Diahann Carroll is an icon whose spirit and style will live on in all of us.
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
circa 1955: Studio headshot portrait of American singer and actor Diahann Carroll, wearing a sleeveless dress, leaning against a white column. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
American singer and actress Diahann Carroll (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
UNSPECIFIED - JANUARY 01: Photo of Diahann CARROLL; posed, studio (Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carroll, American Singer and Actress, photo-call at Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, Sunday 3rd May 1964. Diahann Carroll is in the UK to appear on the second International Cabaret Television Programme, to be aired on BBC2. (Photo by Barham/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
JULIA -- Season 1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker -- (Photo by: Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
UNSPECIFIED - 1st JANUARY: Posed studio image of American actress and singer Diahann Carroll in 1968. (Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
JULIA -- Pictured: Diahann Carol as Julia Baker -- Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
JULIA -- Season 3 -- Pictured: Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker -- (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Unspecified - 1967: Diahann Carroll performing on the ABC tv series 'ABC Stage 67', episode 'C'est La Vie'. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
THE 23RD TONY AWARDS: BROADWAY '69 -- -- Pictured: Host Diahann Carroll -- (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Portrait of African American actress Diahann Carroll, New York, 1973. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carroll (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carroll during Academy Awards Governor's Ball at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
DYNASTY - "Ad Gallery" which aired on September 05, 1984. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) DIAHANN CARROLL
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carrolll in New York City, May 1, 1985 (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
DYNASTY - "Gallery" - Airdate on January 15, 1986. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) DIAHANN CARROLL
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Diahann Carroll attends 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 21, 1986 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carrolll attends 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 1985 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
LOS ANGELES - 1987: Actress Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait in 1987 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carroll (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
LOS ANGELES - 1990: Actress Diahann Carrol poses for a portrait in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Diahann Carroll during The 50th Annual Golden Globe Awards at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Portrait of American singer and actress Diahann Carroll, early 1990s. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
Portrait of American singer and actress Diahann Carroll as she poses against a grey background, New York, New York, early 1999. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
LOS ANGELES - MAY 22: Actress Dianne Carroll arrives at the "Lift Ev'ry Vote" Hollywood fundraiser for Democratic Presidential frontrunner John Kerry on May 22, 2004 at the home of Michael Keegan in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JUNE 14: Actress Diahann Carroll attends the Women In Film 2007 Crystal and Lucy Awards on June 14, 2007 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images).
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Diahann Carroll: A Beauty Icon
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Actress Diahann Carroll attends the BET's 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 17, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
