Golden Age film star Dorothy Dandridge, known for refusing stereotypical roles, is famously credited with breaking racial barriers in Hollywood. A few months after she became the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Life in 1954, she landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 1955 for her role in Carmen Jones, becoming the first African-American actress to receive the honor
Dandridge owned a 1920s Mediterranean house along Viewsite Drive in the Hollywood Hills from 1956 to 1963. Recently renovated, the four-bedroom residence spans more than 4,300 square feet of living space highlighted by stained-glass windows, beamed ceilings, and panoramic city views.
Curtains add privacy to a glass-walled gym above the two-car garage.
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Property records show the home was last sold in 2014 for $2.9 million, returning to market this month with Ricarda Olander of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California at $5.49 million. An updated kitchen, new flooring, a glass-walled gym, a lower-level guest area, and a newly completed primary bath are recent improvements to the home.
A double-height foyer opens to the living room, which sits a few steps below, and is anchored by a carved stone fireplace, while the double-island kitchen is open to a casual lounge and a window-lined dining area overlooking the city. Stained-glass windows line the staircase leading to the primary bedroom with a vaulted ceiling and French doors to a city-view balcony. The semicircular primary bath has a claw-footed soaking tub below a wood-beamed cathedral ceiling, while an island dresser sits at the center of a spacious walk-in closet lined with custom wardrobes.
The formal living room features an exposed beam ceiling and a carved stone fireplace.
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Elsewhere, a lower-level lounge with a wet bar equipped with beverage fridges and a dishwasher leads to a terrace with a built-in barbecue. One final perk: approved plans and permits are in place for the addition of a swimming pool.
The starlet, who was also the first African-American to headline at New York’s Waldorf Astoria, died in West Hollywood on Sept. 8, 1965, at the age of 42. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry portrayed her in a 1999 HBO biopic, for which she won an Emmy and Golden Globe.
Click here for more photos of the Hollywood Hills property.
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Authors
Demetrius Simms
