According to The Associated Press, groundbreaking actress Juanita Moore – who earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in the classic film “Imitation of Life” – has passed away.
Actor Kirk Kelleykahn, her grandson, said that Moore collapsed and died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 99, according to Kelleykahn.
Moore was only the fifth black performer to be nominated for an Oscar, receiving the nod for the Douglas Sirk-directed film that became a big hit and later gained a cult following.
The 1959 film, based on a Fannie Hurst novel and a remake of a 1934 film, tells the story of a struggling white actress’ rise to stardom, her friendship with a black woman and how they team up to raise their daughters as single mothers.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
