“I certainly knew who was there before me - Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, Billie Holiday - not only because that was the music that was played when I was growing up, but because I made it my business to know these things.”

American actress and singer

Leslie Uggams is an American actress and singer whose career began in childhood in the early 1950s. She became widely known for her work on Broadway and on television, especially for her role in the musical Hallelujah, Baby! and for playing Kizzy Reynolds in Roots. Her performance in Hallelujah, Baby! brought her a Theatre World Award in 1967 and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968. In Roots, the 1977 television miniseries, she drew further attention and received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. She is known for stage and screen work that has often carried major public attention.