Juanita Moore, whose performance in “Imitation of Life” made her only the fifth African-American Academy Award nominee, died Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
Moore was 99, although accounts of her age are subject to some dispute. She reportedly collapsed in her Los Angeles home and died of natural causes.
Moore had conflicted feelings about the recognition she received for her role as a housekeeper raising a daughter who tries to pass as a white woman in 1959’s “Imitation.”
“The Oscar prestige was fine, but I worked more before I was nominated,” Moore once told the Los Angeles Times. “Casting directors think an Oscar nominee is suddenly in another category. They couldn’t possibly ask you to do one or two days’ work. You wouldn’t accept it. And I’m sure I would.”
Moore still managed to piece together an impressive array of performances, starting with a small role in the 1949 film “Pinky.”
On Broadway, she starred in James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner,” while logging supporting roles in “The Singing Nun” and TV shows such as “Ironside” and “Ben Casey.” Among her final roles were the 2000 family film “The Kid” opposite Bruce Willis, and episodes of “ER” and “Judging Amy.”
For the Record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Moore’s Oscar-nomatinated work was for the film “Imitation of a Life.” The correct title is “Imitation of Life.”
