Juanita Moore, Oscar-nominated actress, dies at 99

Groundbreaking African-American actress Juanita Moore has died at the age of 99.

Moore, who was nominated for an Oscar in her 1959 role in Imitation of Life, died Tuesday at her Los Angeles home, said her step-grandson, Kirk Kahn.

The actress received a best supporting actress nomination for the film, based on the Fannie Hurst novel, in which she played a housekeeper whose daughter passes as white.

Kahn said his step-grandmother had been working until very recently.

“She gave back to the community in so many ways,” he said. “Wherever we went she stopped and told black boys and girls they could do anything with their lives.”

Moore began her career as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club and made her film debut in 1949 in Pinky. She appeared regularly in films through the 1970s, and later often worked on television.

Moore leaves behind two nephews in addition to Kahn.

[Variety]