Trivia

She was first choice for the role of Cleopatra but ultimately the role went to Elizabeth Taylor.

Referred to by Lena Horne as " . . . our Marilyn Monroe.".

She was the first African-American woman to grace the cover of Life magazine.

Now thought to have suffered from manic-depression, also referred to as bipolar disorder.

Although she was a top-notch nightclub/cabaret singer, she despised that.

In September 1965 The New York Times reported that her death was caused by an embolism due to bone marrow particles from a fractured metatarsal bone in her right foot, that entered her bloodstream and reached her brain and lungs. However, the Los Angeles medical examiner attributed the death to an overdose of the anti-depression medication Tofranil.

Had been involved with Rat Packer and actor Peter Lawford, who attended her funeral.

Delivered her only child via forceps at age 20, her daughter Harolynn Suzanne Nicholas on September 2, 1943. The father was her first husband, Harold Nicholas. Harolynn was born with a brain injury and reportedly died in 2003.

Halle Berry, who portrayed Dorothy in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), became the first African-American to win "Best Actress" at the Academy Awards.

Became pregnant by her then-lover Otto Preminger but underwent an abortion in March 1957.

Suffered from near paralyzing stage fright whenever she had to perform.

She turned down the role of Tuptim in The King and I (1956), on the advice of Otto Preminger not to accept a role in which she was not the star - and Rita Moreno was subsequently cast in the role. The biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) also implies that Dandridge's refusal was because the character was a slave.

Was considered for the role of Billie Holiday in a movie; however, the project did not materialize in her lifetime. When the movie did come to pass, the role was portrayed by Diana Ross.

Her best friend was Geraldine Pate Nicholas Branton, former wife of Fayard Nicholas, of the tap dancing duo The Nicholas Brothers, who was her ex-brother-in-law.

She loved soul food. Her favorite was chitterlings and greens, which she ate only once a week.

Madame Sul-Te-Wan was often rumored to be her real-life grandmother. In the definitive biography on Dandridge, by Donald Bogle, it is suggested that this rumor started because she played Dandridge's grandmother in Carmen Jones (1954).

In September 2020, she was honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month. In honor of her 100th birthday, on November 9, 2022, she was celebrated with a day of her film work on TCM, and her name was cited first and foremost in nationwide Born on This Day columns.

She was a lifelong Democrat.

Younger sister of Vivian Dandridge.

Daughter of Ruby Dandridge.

Is one of 27 actresses to have received an Academy Award nomination for their performance in a musical; hers being Carmen Jones (1954). The others, in chronological order, are: Bessie Love (The Broadway Melody (1929)), Grace Moore (One Night of Love (1934)), Jean Hagen (Singin' in the Rain (1952)), Marjorie Rambeau (Torch Song (1953)), Deborah Kerr (The King and I (1956)), Rita Moreno (West Side Story (1961)), Gladys Cooper (My Fair Lady (1964)), Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins (1964), The Sound of Music (1965) and Victor/Victoria (1982)), Debbie Reynolds (The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)), Peggy Wood (The Sound of Music (1965)), Carol Channing (Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)), Kay Medford (Funny Girl (1968)), Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl (1968)), Liza Minnelli (Cabaret (1972)), Ronee Blakley (Nashville (1975)), Lily Tomlin (Nashville (1975)), Ann-Margret (Tommy (1975)), Lesley Ann Warren (Victor/Victoria (1982)), Amy Irving (Yentl (1983)), Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge! (2001)), Queen Latifah (Chicago (2002)), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago (2002)), Renée Zellweger (Chicago (2002)), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls (2006)), Penélope Cruz (Nine (2009)), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables (2012)), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods (2014)), and Emma Stone (La La Land (2016)).

Great aunt of Nayo Wallace.