2024Nominee
Best Performance
STAIN
Bessie Smith
Actor
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
April 15, 1894
Biography
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.
Photo
Representative Works
Awards and Honors
Critical Favorites
2001Nominee
Best Performance
A Huey P. Newton Story
1999Nominee
Best Performance
Blues Masters
Career Highlights
1929Highlight
Best Performance
St. Louis Blues
2002Highlight
Best Performance
It's Black Entertainment