Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (1809–1876), a celebrated concert artist, was the first to gain recognition outside the United States, performing for Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace in 1853.

Sissieretta Jones

Sissieretta Jones (1869–1933), a world-famous soprano known as the “Black Patti,” was the first to perform at Carnegie Hall in 1892 and later directed the acclaimed Black Patti Troupe.

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker (1906–1975), a dancer, was the first to receive the French Legion of Honor for Shuffle Along (1920) and later served as a WWII spy and French national hero.

Mamie Smith

Mamie Smith (1883–1946), a vocalist, was the first to record a phonograph record, including her 1920 hit “Crazy Blues,” which sold over million copies and cemented her legacy.

Hazel Harrison

Hazel Harrison (1883–1969), a concert orchestra pianist, was the first fully American-trained musician to appear with a European orchestra in the 1920s.

Lillian Evanti

Lillian Evanti (1891 - 1967), a lyric soprano, was the first to perform with a major European company in the 1920s, while simultaneously maintaining deep ties to her native home, Washington, D.C.

Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters (1896–1977), a film, television, and theater actress and singer, was the first to be broadcast on radio in 1922, and her performance in "Pinky" earned an Oscar nomination.

Florence Mills

Florence Mills (1896 – 1977), an entertainer and dancing jazz performer, was the first International female superstar when she appeared in the Plantation Review in Englandin 1923.

Nina Mae McKinney

Nina Mae McKinney (1912 - 1967), an actress, singer, and dancer was the first to have a leading role in the first all-black, all sound musical, Hallelujah in 1929.

Blanche Calloway

Blanche Calloway (1902 - 1978), sister to Cab Calloway, a jazz singer,composer and band leader, was the first to lead an All- Male Jazz Band in the 1930s.

Florence Beatrice Smith Price

Florence Beatrice Smith Price (1887 - 1953), a composer and pianist, was the first to have her work performed by a major symphony in the late 1930s.

Caterina Jarboro

Caterina Jarboro (1903-1986), an artist, was the first to perform with a major U.S. Opera Company when she is featured in the Chicago production of Verdi’s Aida, at the New York Hippodrome in 1933.

Etta Moten Barnett

Etta Moten Barnett (1901 - 2004), an actress and contralto vocalist, was the first to entertain at the White House in 1934. She was known for her signature role of “Bess” in Porgy and Bess.

Eva Jessye

Eva Jessye (1895–1992), a choral director, actress, author, and poet, was the first to gain international recognition directing a professional choral group and the first choral director for Porgy and Bess.

Lena Horne

Lena Horne (1917 - 2010) a civil rights activist, vocalist, and entertainer, was the first performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942.

Janet Collins

Janet Collins (1917–2003), a ballet dancer, and teacher, was the first artist to perform on the MET stage, dancing in the 1951 production of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera House, in NY.

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson (1897–1993), a contralto singer, was the first to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Her 1939 Easter Sunday Lincoln Memorial concert drew 75,000, symbolizing her role in civil rights.

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald (1917 - 1996) a singer, was the first to win a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance for “The Irving Berlin Songbook” (album) and Best Individual Jazz Performance for “The Duke Ellington Songbook” (album) in 1958.

Leontyne Price

Leontyne Price (b. 1927), an opera singer, is widely regarded as the first African American to gain international acclaim. She debuted at San Francisco Opera in 1957 and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1961.

Katherine Durham

Katherine Durham (1909 - 2006), a dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist, was the first choreographer for the Metropolitan Opera in New York in its new production of Aida for the 1963-64 seasons.

Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll (b. 1935), an actor and singer, was the first to star in her own TV series, Julia (1968), won a Tony Award for No Strings, and earned an Oscar nomination for Claudine.

Cheryl Andrienne Browne

Cheryl Andrienne Browne, a ballet dancer, was the first African American contestant in the Miss America pageant in 1970. Her brave step opened doors and inspired many girls after her.

Margaret Rosezarian

Margaret Rosezarian (1943 - 2000), a musician and educator, was the first to conduct the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and thirteen other cities in the 1970s.

Carol Brice

Carol Brice (1918–1985), a contralto singer, was the first to win the Naumburg Award in 1977 and was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime contributions to American culture.

Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams (b. 1963), a singer, actor, and beauty queen, was the first to be crowned Miss America in 1983. She later won three Grammys, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and got Emmy and Tony nominations.

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer and musician. She began singing gospel at her father’s church as a child and became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson (1911 - 1972), a civil rights activist and gospel singer, is referred to as The Queen of Gospel" was the first to receive the Grammy Hall of Fame Award for Move On Up A Little Higher in 1998. (Chicago Connection)