Diahann: An Autobiography

Carroll is known to Dynasty viewers as the ruthless, glamorous Dominique Devereaux, but her own story reveals that the actress-singer failed to capitalize on her own initial successes. Men and racial politics frustrated her early promise, she suggests, even though she was showered with Tony and Emmy awards and Oscar nominations before she was 40. Her intelligence, sophistication, elegance and middle-class background enabled her to become a breakthrough black performer in the Civil Rights era, but because she was a pioneer, she maintains, she suffered criticism from the black community when she starred in Julia, the first TV sitcom to present a black professional woman. Marriage and romantic liaisons with both black and white men failed to bring her stability, and diverted her from her career, according to Carroll. Engrossing and frank, her autobiography shows why even the most talented black performers often fail to have power. Photos not seen by PW. (April 28)