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Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922–September 8, 1965) was an American actress. She was the first African American to be nominated for the Academy Award in the Best Actress category and the third African American to receive a nomination in any category overall (after Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters). Dorothy Dandridge began singing in her church's choir. Ruby Dandridge — an ambitious, small-time local performer who would become a successful stage and screen actress — created an act with her daughters that performed as "The Wonder Children." The "Wonder Children" toured in the South for five years with Ruby's lesbian partner, Geneva Williams, while Ruby continued working and performing in Ohio. Some biographies document this period as the beginning of the sexual abuse the young Dorothy would suffer from Williams until adolescence. During this period, the young Dandrige toured non-stop, rarely attending school. With the start of the Great Depression, work for the Wonder Children dried up as it did for many of the Chitlin' circuit performers. Ruby Jean Butler Dandridge packed her family and moved to Hollywood in search of a new career for her daughters and herself. In Los Angeles, she found steady work, playing a domestic in small parts on the radio and in film. During this time, Geneva continued to train and rehearse the girls; Dorothy was also re-enrolled in school. Her first on-screen appearance was as an extra in a 1935 Our Gang short called Teacher's Beau.