Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye " Debbie " Allen ( born January 16, 1950 in Houston ) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, producer and singer. She became famous by the television series Fame where they played the dance teacher Lydia Grant.
- 4.1 albums
Life
Debbie Allen was born in Houston as the youngest daughter of Andrew Arthur Allen Sr. and Vivian Ayers. Her siblings are the American actress Phylicia Rashad and jazz composer Tex Allen ( Andrew Arthur Allen Jr, born 1945). At Howard University, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in classical Greek literature and drama.
After studying Debbie Allen appeared in various Broadway musicals. She sang in the choir of the musical Purlie, played the role of Beneatha Younger in Raisin and the role of Anita in the 1980 revival of West Side Story. In 1986, she played the lead role in the Muscial Sweet Charity.
Debbie Allen played in the movie Fame - The Path To Glory (1980) and in the television series Fame, the dance teacher Lydia Grant. In the television series, she has been involved as a senior choreographer to shape the dance numbers. In the remake of the movie Fame, she played the director Angela Simms.
As a singer she released two solo albums Sweet Charity (1986) and Special Look ( 1989). In 2001 she opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles. There, young people can learn different styles of dance between fourteen and eighteen years. Debbie Allen led in 2008 directed the Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which also starred her sister Phylicia Rashad.
Debbie Allen got an honorary doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and her former college, Howard University. She is married since 1984 with former NBA basketball player Norm Nixon. Her daughter Vivian Nichole Nixon is a dancer on Broadway and her son Norman Ellard Nixon Jr., a basketball player.
Prizes and awards
- Golden Apple Award (1982 )
- Three Emmy Awards for Fame (1982, 1983 and 1984)
- Golden Globe Award (1983 ) Best in category Serial Actress - Comedy or Musical for Fame - The Path To Glory ( TV series)
- 10 NAACP Image Awards, among others, as a director, actress, choreographer and producer for Fame, A Different World, Motown 25 and Amistad.
- Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category TV
- Honorary doctorates from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Howard University