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Pearl Bailey Biography
Birth Name:
Pearl Mae Bailey
Birth Place:
Newport News, Virginia, United States
Profession
Singer, dancer, actor
Fast Facts
- Dropped out of high school to focus on her entertainment career
- First appeared on Broadway in the mid-1940s in the musical St
- Louis Woman, earning a Donaldson Award for Best Newcomer on Broadway
- Authored several books, including the autobiography The Raw Pearl (1968)
- Appeared in numerous film roles and starred in a TV series, the Pearl Bailey Show, as a result of her successful stage career
- Graduated from college at age 67
- She was inspired to earn her degree after being awarded an honorary doctorate several years earlier
- Performed for troops at USO concerts and served as an ambassador to the United Nations
- Was awarded America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1988 for her artistic and humanitarian efforts
Relationships
- Bill Bailey -- Brother
- Dee Dee Jean Bellson -- Daughter
- Joseph James Bailey -- Father
- Ella Mae Bailey -- Mother
- Eura Robinson -- Sister
- Virgie Murray -- Sister
- Anthony Bellson -- Son