A black celebrity or any person with the black skin color tends to get discriminated and it’s been happening for years. We see news and read articles online about discrimination and hate amongst people, especially because of religion and color. Black people have experienced this discrimination and hate on an extreme level. Even after all the hardships they faced, black people worked hard and are successful now.
[su_note note_color=”#db0d12″ text_color=”#f8efef”]This article doesn’t have the intention to hurt anyone’s sentiment. This article aims to celebrate the success of African-American Celebrities who contributed to the world in their own way.[/su_note]
It doesn’t matter if it’s a profession of acting, business or any other that you can think of, black people have proved their worth. In this article, we will be looking at 20 African American Black Celebrities who have nailed their careers and personal lives. These personalities and Black Celebrity Figures have shown that anyone can achieve what is desired, irrespective of any factor.
1.Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter
Known as Beyoncé, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is from one of the most known black celebrity figures in the world. She is an amazing singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. Also, it is worth noticing that Beyoncé has an African-American origin. Beyoncé is famous for her work like Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), Best Thing I Never Had and Halo, and much more.
Not just songs, Beyoncé is also known for her acting performance in movies. One of the most celebrated works and movies by Beyoncé is Homecoming, which is a concert film and was released in 2019. Beyoncé also has some really nice movies on her name, movies like ‘Life is but a dream’ shows the skills she possesses.
2. Oprah Winfrey
No doubt, Oprah Winfrey is the most influential black lady alive. Oprah is an inspiration for everyone. She is a media person, an author, a talk show host and an actress as well. Winfrey got her fame from being the talk show she hosted. She became famous when she came out to the world about what she faced as a black female.
Oprah in 1993 wrote an autobiography, which really helped her to become what she is today. It’s not just only the common reader, but Oprah’s thinking also gave birth to various debates in the intellectual world.
3. Will Smith
Will Smith is known to be the most influential Hollywood actor present today. Although Will is an American, his roots are African. Will Smith is an actor and rapper. Moreover, his work of acting is known throughout the world. Will has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two academy awards.
Not just these, Will has won four Grammy awards. All these achievements show how refined the artist he is. The most known work of Will Smith is Men in Black, Bad Boys series, The pursuit of happiness and Suicide squad. Also, the list of his works is sort of never-ending.
4. Janet Mock
Janet Mock is known as an influential personality whose steps became a contributing factor in the improvement of society. Moreover, Janet Mock is multitalented and this is seen easily because she is a writer, host, producer, director and also a transgender rights activist. She took the world by the publication of her debut book, The Memoir Redefining Realness that became New York Times bestseller.
5. Barack Obama
Well, this name and another black celebrity figure don’t need any introduction. Barack Obama, the 44th president of the U.S.A, is considered a legendary personality across the whole world. One of the reasons for this is that he was the first African American president of the United States. Barack Obama also tried his hand in writing, he has some famous titles on his name.
Some of his fee structure greatest works are Dreams from my father, Of thee I sing and Change we can believe in. Also, Barack Obama bagged the Nobel prize in the year 2009. Furthermore, Obama was awarded for his extraordinary efforts in order to strengthen cooperation and diplomacy among people internationally.
6. LeBron Raymone James Sr.
Popularly known as LeBron James, he is a famous American basketball player. James plays for Los Angeles Lakers of NBA. His name doesn’t need any reference because his famous game skills have made him even equal to Michael Jordan. Also, James is known to have worked in various Hollywood movies. Apart from earnings through games, LeBron has more sources of earnings that made his name into the Forbes.
Furthermore, James has his own production company and media company. Talking about Forbes, LeBron James is number 8 on the list of world’s highest-paid athletes. Also, James is number 36 on the list of America’s richest entrepreneurs of 2016.
7. Tarana Burke
Women are known to have faced the dual effects of patriarchy and social structure. Tarana Burke is another black celebrity figure that became a voice and role model for letting out of the suppressed voices of females. Tarana Burke is a civil rights activist from New York, America and became famous for the Me Too movement. Burke started the Me Too movement by using the phrase on social media in the year 2006 and it got the success it deserved.
Moreover, the center point of the movement was to spread awareness about sexual abuse in society. After this movement, the has a considerable rise in the number of women coming out for the experiences they had.
8. Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty, a name that is recognized globally. Rihanna is not originally American and came to America in the year 2005. She is famous for her singing, as a songwriter and as a businesswoman. Also, she is known to have worked in movies and TV shows. Some of her albums are Anti, Loud, Good girl gone bad, and Music of the son.
There are also movies by Rihanna that got the fame they deserved and were known all across the globe. She also has various awards in diverse fields. For instance, Rihanna has won the American Music Awards, Billboard award, People’s Choice award, and Teen choice award.
9. Serena Williams
Serena Williams is a really big sports personality that is quite popular across the world. She is an American professional tennis player, where she has proved her worth to the world many times. Also, Serena has been the top female tennis player in the world in the past. Williams has countless achievements and some records on her name.
The number of grand slam won by her has a whopping count of 23, which is the most by any tennis player. Also, she started her career in the year 2002 and from then she showed exceptional growth in the respective field.
10. Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama, the wife of the former president of the United States, Barack Obama. She is famous for not just being the wife of the former president but for also being an influential figure. Also, Michelle Obama is a known writer and has written many books.
She also has won the prestigious Grammy award recently for the audio version of ‘Becoming’. Furthermore, this lady represented the role model of women and not just black women. She worked on issues such as poverty, education, and nutrition, etc.
11. Allyson Felix
A black celebrity or personality is known for his or her great physical capabilities too, and Allyson Felix has proved the fact right. An American runner and field athlete, Allyson is known to have shown some serious potential in running. Felix is also known as “Chicken legs” for her physique. Moreover, Felix competes in 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters sprint. She became famous when she won the 2012 Olympics in 200 meters sprint.
Also, Felix is a 3-time world champion along with being a 2-time silver medalist in the Olympics. Furthermore, in 2016, Allyson Felix once again showed her potential and became the first-ever female to bag six Olympics medals.
12. Michael Jordan
Simply known as the legend of basketball, Michael Jordan took basketball to another level. Jordan is an American professional basketball player and has played for teams like Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Though not of the decade, Jordon played a major role in shaping many things that we witness today.
Also, it’s not just the game that made him famous and known, Michael Jordan has his name in the Forbes in the list of 25 highest-paid athletes of all time. One fun fact, the air Jordan series of shoes by the famous brand Nike was made exclusively for Michael Jordan in 1984.
13. Viola Davis
As an American actress and producer, Viola Davis has excelled in her career. Viola Davis’s refined personality has given her name in the Times magazine as of the most influential personalities in 2012 and 2017. Viola has been part of famous titles like How to get away with murder, The Help, Fences and Suicide squad.
From the movies she worked in, one can see the element of diversity in her work. Due to her exceptional work, she became the first black actor to achieve the Triple crown of acting. Moreover, Viola has won two Tony awards, an Academy Award and an Emmy award.
14. Maya Angelou
When given the chance, people can show the potential they carry, and Maya Angelou is the one that made it true. Maya Angelou was a poet, singer and civil rights, activist. She published many works that include poetry, autobiographies, and essays. Maya has published seven autobiographies in her lifespan along with three books of essays.
She also contributed to movies like Good Hair, The Runaway and Roots. Unfortunately, Maya Angelou left the world in the year 2014, leaving her thoughts and values behind. Maya Angelou has been honored by Pulitzer prize nomination and has shall be won a Tony prize along with five Grammys. She is one of the most beloved black celebrity even today.
15. Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox is an American actress and an LGBTQ+ advocate. She got the fame after her role as ‘Sophia Burset’ in the Netflix series, Orange is the new black. Through this series, Laverne became the first openly transgender person who got nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in the acting category.
The steps Laverne Cox took became a way out for the entire transgender community. No doubt that there have been incidents in the past that helped the transgender community but Laverne Cox took it to the next step. Also, Laverne showed people that people from the LGBTQ+ community are also capable of doing great things.
16. Taraji P. Henson
The one who began her career as guest characters, Taraji is now a well-known personality in the acting industry. Taraji is an African-American actress and author. The breakthrough point of her life came in the form of her work on Baby Boy, for which she got critical praise from around the world.
Taraji has worked in various movies and in many of them, she got for her acting. Some of the movies she worked in are Hidden figures, What Men Want, Think Like A Man and Proud Mary. The list is sort of never-ending, which shows the diversity she can adapt to.
17. Regina king
American actress and director Regina King has been named as one of the 100 most influential personalities by Time magazine. Regina worked in movies like If Beale Street Could Talk, Poetic Justice, The Christmas, and Miss congeniality and many others as well. Moreover, she is known for her role as Brenda Jenkins, the nerd daughter of Mary Jenkins, in a popular sitcom of 1980.
Regina has also various awards on her name because of the potential she showed in the works. Regina won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Primetime Emmy award, and many others.
18. Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union is an American actress, activist, voice artist, and author. She worked in many movies and shows, but the breakthrough point of her career was due to the full Bring it on. She began her career in the 1990s with small roles in sitcoms. Some of the movies she worked in are Bad Boys 2, L.A’s finest, Being Mary Jane and Breaking in.
Gabrielle is still considered as an influential personality around the world for her skills. Apart from that, she is also known to have won the Rising Start Award in 2003.
19. Gayle king
Gayle King is a well known American personality, author, black celebrity, and journalist. She got the major part of her fame due to her work as a chief anchor for CBS news. She also started her own show in the year 2011 named as The Gayle King Show. Also, Gayle appeared in The Oprah Winfrey show hosted by Oprah Winfrey, another famous black personality.
Gayle, for “Excellence in public service broadcast and digital journalism,” has won an Alfred I. DuPont – Columbia Award. She has also covered the elementary school shooting that took place in the year 2012. Gayle, like some other personalities in the list, made the world see the potential in herself and her community.
20. Muhammad Ali
An American professional boxer, Muhammad Ali was greatly known as philanthropist and activist. A few of Ali’s famous matches that he played comprise of the Fight of the Century (which was against Joe Frazier), championship match against Sonny Liston, and the Rumble in the Jungle (which was played against George Foreman).
Being the only athlete who won the coveted title, Muhammad Ali further went to become a 3-time lineal heavyweight champion. Moreover, Ali was only 18 years old when he was able to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in the light heavyweight division, in 1960.
Final words
Well, when it comes to being known across the globe, it doesn’t really matter where you come from or if you are a black celebrity figure. This is because of the fact that your work and expertise in something or other tends to make your name, not your skin color. And hence, when we see the above-listed personalities who have done tremendous jobs, we no longer feel the need to say the person is black of white. Furthermore, a black celebrity, just like any other celebrity figure, needs to be treated in the same manner.
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