Ruby Dee was an American Actress, Playwright, Screenwriter, activist, poet and journalist. She is best known for starring in the stage and screen versions of "A Raisin In the Sun" in 1961. She was also an advocate for civil rights with her husband, Ossie Davis. Ruby Dee was born in Ohio and raised in Harlem, New York. She joined the American Negro Theater in 1941 as an apprentice and rose to be a leading performer. Dee made dozens of films, television appearances, theater performances, and even recordings. In 2007 Ruby Dee was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mama Lucas in American Gangster. She won the Screen Actors Guild award for the same performance. At 83 years of age, Dee is currently the second oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress. She was a Grammy, Emmy, Obie and Drama Desk winner. She was also a National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award recipient. Ruby Dee met Ozzie Davis while costarring in Robert Ardrey's 1946 Broadway play "Jeb". The couple got married after 2 years and had 3 children together. The couple were actively engaged in the Civil Rights Movement and were personal friends with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.