THERESA HARRIS

Theresa Harris was a pretty black African American actress who started in movies in 1929, and she appeared in 86 movies over the next several decades, but due to the prejudices of the times, she mostly played only maids and other stereotyped roles. But because she was both an excellent actress and an excellent singer, she did have some stand out parts, including opposite Barbara Stanwyck in Baby Face, where she had equal screen time to Stanwyck. Because she made so many movies and because she invested her money well, she was able to live comfortably in her later years, and while she did not get to ever have the starring roles she would have received had she appeared in the 1970s and later, she did live until 1985, passing away at the age of 78, so she saw many of the great advances made by black actresses who followed her!