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Cape Town - Oscar-nominated and Tony award-winning actress Diahann Carroll has died. She was 84 years old.
Her daughter, Susan Kay said her mother died on Friday after battling breast cancer, reports The Associated Press.
According to CNN Diahann made history as the first African-American woman to star in a TV sitcom not revolving around a stereotypical character in the show Julia, which premiered on NBC in 1968.
In the 1980s she joined the primetime soapie Dynasty in which she played Dominique Deveraux, the half-sister of Blake Carrington and arch-rival of Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins.
In 1962 she won a Tony for best actress for her role as Barbara Woodruff in the musical No Strings and received an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1974 movie Claudine, in which she starred alongside James Earl Jones.
Director Ava DuVernay paid tribute to the ground-breaking actress on Twitter.
She wrote: "Diahann Carroll walked this earth for 84 years and broke ground with every footstep. An icon. One of the all-time greats. She blazed trails through dense forests and elegantly left diamonds along the path for the rest of us to follow. Extraordinary life. Thank you, Ms. Carroll."
Diahann Carroll walked this earth for 84 years and broke ground with every footstep. An icon. One of the all-time greats. She blazed trails through dense forests and elegantly left diamonds along the path for the rest of us to follow. Extraordinary life. Thank you, Ms. Carroll. pic.twitter.com/YXjh7d3LWU
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 4, 2019
Compiled by Leandra Engelbrecht. (Sources: Associated Press, CNN, Twitter)
