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Julia - Season 3

Source: NBC / Getty

Prayers up. We have lost an icon.

Legendary actress, singer, and activist Diahann Carroll has died, according to multiple reports. She was 84 years old. Carroll’s daughter told the Hollywood Reporter that her mother died at her Los Angeles home after battling breast cancer.

READ MORE: 10 Times Diahann Carroll Slayed

“Carroll was known as a Las Vegas and nightclub performer and for her performances on Broadway and in the Hollywood musicals Carmen Jones and Porgy & Bess when she was approached by an NBC executive to star as Julia Baker, a widowed nurse raising a young son, on the comedy Julia,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote.

Born July 17, 1935, in the Bronx, Carroll’s career on stage, television, and film was noteworthy for breaking color barriers. In 1962, Carroll became the first Black actress to win a Tony Award for her performance in the 1962 musical “No Strings,” a role written especially for her by the American composer Richard Rogers.  Six years later, Carroll starred on the hit NBC sitcom “Julia,” marking the first time an African American actress starred on a television series in a non servant role.

Carroll’s groundbreaking performance as widowed single mother Julia Baker received widespread critical acclaim. In 1969, she became the first Black actress to be nominated for – and win – a Golden Globe award for her work on “Julia.”  A year later, Carroll would make history once again by becoming the first Black actress to earn a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

And if Carroll’s achievements weren’t impressive enough, she also nabbed an Oscar nomination in 1974 for her role in the film “Claudine.”

She was also an accomplished singer, as shown in the video below.

TV One remembered how Carroll would “go on to star in Dynasty in 1984 as the super sexy fashionista Dominique Deveraux, making her the first prominently featured African-American character on a primetime soap opera — a spot that wouldn’t be filled by another Black woman until Kerry Washington in 2012.”

Carroll’s role as Dominique Deveraux in the prime time soap opera “Dynasty” proved to be a transformative experience for the actress. According to a Washington Post interview published in 2017, Deveraux was “an elegant songstress and businesswoman whom Carroll declared at the time would be television’s ‘first black bitch.’ She instructed the prime-time soap’s writers to ‘just pretend that I’m a white male . . . and write the character from there.’ And there, yet another breakthrough, America getting to watch a black woman complaining about the off-brand of caviar she had been served.”

Carroll went into a bit more detail when describing to the producers of “Dynasty” how she’d like Deveraux’s character to be.

“The most important thing to remember is write for a white male, and you’ll have the character. Don’t try to write for what you think I am. Write for a white man who wants to be wealthy and powerful. And that’s the way we found Dominique Deveraux,” Carroll said in the early 1980s.

Carroll also played Whitley Gilbert’s mother on the popular 1990s sitcom “A Different World.”

She was married four times and is survived by her daughter, producer and journalist Suzanne Kay, and her grandchildren, August and Sydney.

Carroll was first diagnosed with cancer in 1997, which she beat after undergoing surgery and radiation therapy. The experience inspired her to become a public breast cancer activist. She is also a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, which offers services to homeless women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction or prostitution.

The world will miss her dearly.

Scroll down to take a look at dozens of stunning photos of her through the years.

1. Julia – Season 3

Julia - Season 3 Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

2. Millay Colony for the Arts Dinner at the Plaza Hotel,

Actress Josephine Premice Source:Getty

Actress Josephine Premice, actor Roscoe Lee Browne, actress and singer Diahann Carroll standing at the Millay Colony for the Arts Dinner at the Plaza Hotel, New York, New York, 1976. (Photo by Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

3. 47th Academy Awards

47th Academy Awards Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll arrives to the 47th Academy Awards at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, on April 8, 1975. (Photo by Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

4. Diahann Carroll And Don Marshall

Diahann Carroll And Don Marshall Source:Getty

Actors Diahann Carroll and Don Marshall at the Golden Globe Awards, 1969. (Photo by Max B. Miller/Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

5. Paley Center For Media’s Hollywood Tribute To African-American Achievements in Television

Paley Center For Media's Hollywood Tribute To African-American Achievements in Television, Presented by JPMorgan & Co Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll presents onstage at the Paley Center For Media’s Hollywood Tribute To African-American Achievements in Television, on October 26, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Paley Center For Media)

6. 2016 ABFF Awards: A Celebration Of Hollywood

2016 ABFF Awards: A Celebration Of Hollywood - Show Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll (far R) accepts the ABFF Hollywood Legacy Award onstage with actresses (L-R) Loretta Devine, Keke Palmer and Kerry Washington onstage during the 2016 ABFF Awards: A Celebration Of Hollywood at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 21, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Alberto Rodriguez/BET/Getty Images for BET)

7. Julia Scene with Diahann Carroll and Guest Stars

Julia Scene with Diahann Carroll and Guest Stars Source:Getty

Left to right: Sugar Ray Robinson and Diana Sands guest star on the TV series Julia in which Diahann Carroll (right) stars.

8. Diahann Carroll and Jim Brown

Diahann Carroll and Jim Brown Source:Getty

Photo shows Diahann Carroll as Ellie and Jim Brown as McClain in 1968 movie, The Split.

9. Frank Sinatra and Diahann Carroll

Frank Sinatra and Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

A portrait of Frank Sinatra and Diahann Carroll singing together as she guest stars on the television special “Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing.”

10. 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

USA: Diahann Carrolll Source:Getty

Diahann Carrolll attends 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 1985, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images)

11. 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

USA: Diahann Carrolll Source:Getty

Diahann Carrolll attends 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 21, 1986, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images)

12. Portrait At Mar-A-Lago

Portrait At Mar-A-Lago Source:Getty

Portrait of, front row from left, singer Vic Damone, actress Diahann Carroll, Donald Trump, and British philanthropist Celia Lipton Farris as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1995. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

13. Diahann Carroll with Harry Belafonte

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll with Harry Belafonte. February 11, 1965. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images)

14. Bill Cosby and Diahann Carroll

Bill Cosby & Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll, after her opening night performance at the Empire Room, Waldorf, is greeted by Bill Cosby, January 30, 1968. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images)

15. In London

Singer Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Jazz singer Diahann Carroll in London in 1957. She was to appear in the Commercial TV show ‘Chelsea at Nine.’

16. Portrait Of Diahann Carroll

Portrait Of Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

In New York City circa early 1990s. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)

17. BET’s 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards

BET's 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards - Arrivals Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll attends BET’s 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 17, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

18. Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards

Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards - Inside Source:Getty

Quvenzhane Wallis, Yara Shahidi, Aja Naomi King, Danielle Brooks, Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Janelle Monae, Angela Bassett and Diahann Carroll at Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 23, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Essence)

19. Diahann Carroll Reflects On Early Days Of Career

Diahann Carroll Reflects On Early Days Of Career Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll stands for applause, as her daughter Suzanne Kay (filmmaker) smiles, before their appearance on a panel to help promote a documentary on Ed Sullivan, the TV host who helped Black artists break through. As part of the March on Washington film festival, the discussion was held at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, July 15, 2017. (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

20. Julia – Season 1

Julia - Season 1 Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker — (Photo by: Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

21. Julia – Season 2

Julia - Season 2 Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker, Terry Carter as Bert Morrow — (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

22. Julia – Season 3

Julia - Season 3 Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker — (Photo by: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

23. Dynasty

heather locklear Source:WENN

Ted McGinley, Diahann Carroll, and Heather Locklear opn the set of “Dynasty,” circa 1986 – 1987.

24. Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll autographs her new book at Doubleday Book Store in New York City on April 22, 1986. (Photo by Robert Kalfus/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images)

25. Dynasty cast party

Joan Collins, John Forsyth,Linda Evans,Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Members of the cast including Diahann Carroll, Joan Collins, John Forsythe and Linda Evans at a party celebrating the production of 150 episodes of Dynasty in 1986 the party was held on “The Carlton” set which Aaron Spelling bought in 1986 (previously it had been used for the movie “Cluedo”). 1986 (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)

26. Heroes Of Hollywood Awards Luncheon

Heroes Of Hollywood Awards Luncheon Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll accepts the honor of the Mary Pickford Award from the Hollywood Chamber’s Hollywood Community Foundation at Taglyan Cultural Complex on May 31, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Chrissy Hampton/Getty Images)

27. In the UK

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll, American Singer and Actress, photo-call at Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, Sunday 3rd May 1964. Diahann Carroll was in the UK to appear on the second International Cabaret Television Programme, to be aired on BBC2. (Photo by Barham/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

28. In London

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll at London Heathrow Airport, Saturday 6th January 1973. Diahann Carroll was seen off by fiance David Frost. Also pictured, Bandleader Duke Ellington, who is also flying to America. (Photo by Dennis Stone/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

29. In LA

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait wearing a fur hat circa 1968 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Martin Mills/Getty Images)

30. In the UK

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll, UK, 18th January 1965. (Photo by Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

31. Robert Goulet, Diahann Carroll Performing On ‘The Bob Goulet Show’

Robert Goulet, Diahann Carroll Performing On 'The Bob Goulet Show' Source:Getty

Robert Goulet, Diahann Carroll performing on Walt Disney Television via Getty Images special ‘The Bob Goulet Show,’ circa 1970. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

32. Promotional Photo

Diahann Carroll Promotional Photo Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll promotional photo, circa 1966. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

33. Diahann Carroll Performing On ‘The Bob Goulet Show’

Diahann Carroll Performing On 'The Bob Goulet Show' Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll performing on Walt Disney Television via Getty Images special ‘The Bob Goulet Show,’ circa 1970. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

34. Diahann Carroll Promotional Photo

Diahann Carroll Promotional Photo Source:Getty

1966: Diahann Carroll promotional photo. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

35. Diahann Carroll Promotional Photo

Diahann Carroll Promotional Photo Source:Getty

1966: Diahann Carroll promotional photo. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

36. Portrait of Diahann Carroll

Portrait of Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Portrait of Diahann Carroll (Photo by Carl Van Vechten Collection/Getty Images) vertical,photography,people,one person,arts culture and entertainment,usa,looking at camera,music,black and white,archival,three quarter length,1950-1959,diahann carroll

37. Phyllis Diller, Julie Andrews, Diahann Carroll Appearing On ‘The Julie Andrews Hour’

Phyllis Diller, Julie Andrews, Diahann Carroll Appearing On 'The Julie Andrews Hour' Source:Getty

1972: (L-R) Phyllis Diller, Julie Andrews, Diahann Carroll performing on ‘The Julie Andrews Hour’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

38. Portrait of Diahann Carroll

Portrait of Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Portrait of Diahann Carroll (Photo by Carl Van Vechten Collection/Getty Images)

39. Portrait of Diahann Carroll

Portrait of Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Portrait of Diahann Carroll (Photo by Carl Van Vechten Collection/Getty Images)

40. Claudine (1974)

Claudine (1974) Source:WENN

Claudine (1974) Directed by John Berry. Shown: James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll

41. Diahann Carroll Performing On ‘The Twentieth Century Follies’

Diahann Carroll Performing On 'The Twentieth Century Follies' Source:Getty

1972: Diahann Carroll performing on the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images tv special ‘The Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Comedy Hour’ episode ‘The Twentieth Century Follies’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

42. American actress Diahann Carroll pictured on her arrival in Sydney

American actress Diahann Carroll pictured on her arrival in Sydney today. Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll pictured on her arrival in Sydney on October 21, 1971. (Photo by Trevor James Robert Dallen/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

43. American actress and singer Diahann Carroll, of the TV series “Julia” pictured at Sydney airport today. She is here for a season at the VChevron Hotel.

American actress and singer Diahann Carroll, of the TV series "Julia" pictured at Sydney airport today. She is here for a season at the VChevron Hotel. Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll, of the TV series “Julia” pictured at Sydney airport October 21, 1971. (Photo by Trevor James Robert Dallen/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).

44. Diahann Carroll Appearing In ‘The Twentieth Century Follies’

Diahann Carroll Appearing In 'The Twentieth Century Follies' Source:Getty

1972: Diahann Carroll appearing in sketch on the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images tv special ‘The Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Comedy Hour’ episode ‘The Twentieth Century Follies’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

45. The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre Source:WENN

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre.

46. Diahann Carroll, actress, singer, arrived in Sydney today for an Opera House concert.

Diahann Carroll, actress, singer, arrived in Sydney today for an Opera House concert. Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll, actress, singer, arrived in Sydney today for an Opera House concert. November 30, 1973. (Photo by Antony Matheus Linsen/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).

47. Diahann Carroll in Hot Tub

Diahann Carroll in Hot Tub Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll soaks in hot tub on the set of television hit series Dynasty in Hollywood California circa 1985 (Photo by NikWheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)

48. Diahann Carroll Appearing On ‘ABC Stage 67’

Diahann Carroll Appearing On 'ABC Stage 67' Source:Getty

1967: Diahann Carroll performing on the ABC tv series ‘ABC Stage 67’, episode ‘C’est La Vie’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

49. Diahann Carroll Session

Diahann Carroll Session Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)

50. Ashford & Simpson And Friends

Ashford & Simpson And Friends. Source:Getty

Left To Right: Whitney Houston, Roberta Flack, Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson, Diahann Carroll, pose for a photo on June 16, 1986 New York City, New York. (Photo By Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

51. Diahann Carroll Session

Diahann Carroll Session Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)

52. Diahann Carroll Session

Diahann Carroll Session Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)

53. Diahann Carroll Session

Diahann Carroll Session Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait in 1997 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)

54. Portrait Of Diahann Carroll

Portrait Of Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Portrait of American singer and actress Diahann Carroll, early 1990s. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)

55. Diahann Carroll In ‘Julia’

Diahann Carroll In 'Julia,' c. 1968. Source:Getty

Promotional portrait of American actor Diahann Carroll wearing a nurse’s uniform for the television series, ‘Julia,’ circa 1968. (Photo by NBC Television/Courtesy of Getty Images)

56. Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Studio headshot portrait of American singer and actor Diahann Carroll, wearing a sleeveless dress, leaning against a white column. Circa 1955. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

57. Julia

Julia Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses with a yellow flower in a studio portrait, against a blue background, issued as publicity for the US television series, ‘Julia’, USA, circa 1969. The sitcom starred Carrolll as ‘Julia Baker’. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

58. Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier Source:Getty

Sidney Poitier with actress Diahann Carroll attending the 36th Academy Awards in Santa Monica, California, April 13, 1964. (Photo by Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

59. Diahann Carroll In Watts

Diahann Carroll In Watts Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll poses for a portrait by the Watts Towers circa 1968 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Martin Mills/Getty Images)

60. Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll Source:Getty

Diahann Carroll in a hallway wearing a white dress.; circa 1970; New York. (Photo by Art Zelin/Getty Images)