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Nina McKinney, Actress born

Nina McKinney

*Nina M. McKinney, born in 1912, is remembered on this date. She was a Black actress and entertainer, one of the first black actresses to make her name in American cinema.

From Lancaster, South Carolina, her grandmother raised Nina Mae McKinney near the estate of Col. LeRoy Sanders, where her family had worked as slaves for several generations. When she was twelve, her parents (living in New York) sent for her.  Her career as an entertainer began at sixteen when she performed in the chorus line of Lew Leslie's Blackbirds. Her performance raised eyebrows, and she was cast for a role in Hallelujah 1929, directed by King Vidor.

In this role, McKinney originated the stereotype “Black Temptress” that has haunted Black actresses.  Critics described her characterization of Chick as “half woman, half child.” At the time, she was only seventeen years old, young, and beautiful, and on the strength of this performance, McKinney was given a five-year contract with Metro-Golden-Mayer (MGM).  Here, she fell into the exploitation and oppression common to Black women in Hollywood.  McKinney was a leading lady in an industry with no leading roles for a black woman.

MGM did not know what to do with her, so she was cast in only two films, Safe in Hell 1931 and Reckless 1935; both were small parts, and when her contract expired, she made her career in Hollywood. She toured Europe in 1929 with pianist Garland Wilson. They performed in Paris and London. Billed as the “Black Garbo’” she was well-received by audiences abroad.  McKinney twice starred with Paul Robeson in Congo Road and the English film Sander of the River 1935.  She appeared in many independent films in America, including Pie Pie Blackbird with Eubie Blake.

In 1940, after marrying musician Jimmy Monroe, she toured the United States with her jazz band; her last film was Pinky in 1949. The "Black Garbo," Nina McKinney, died in New York on May 3, 1967.

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