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Madame Sul-Te-Wan (born Nellie Crawford; March 7, 1873 – February 1, 1959) was the first African-American actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was an American stage, film and television actress for over 50 years.
Feb 13, 2020 · Madame Sul-Te-Wan became the first black actress to land a studio contract, carving out a place for herself in the emerging Hollywood scene. According to silent screen star Lillian Gish, the full story is forever lost to history because, “no one was bold enough to ask.”
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was born on 7 March 1873 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for Maid of Salem (1937), In Old Chicago (1938) and Safari (1940). She was married to Robert Reed Conley. She died on 1 February 1959 in Hollywood, California, USA.
Feb 7, 2023 · Madame Sul-Te-Wan, as she was known by then, became the first black woman signed as a contract player in Hollywood’s history. In 1931, in her role as “Voodoo Sue” in Heaven on Earth she was first listed among the cast as Madame Sul-Te-Wan. Nobody today can claim to know when and why she used this name.
Nov 16, 2011 · The mysteriously named Madame Sul-Te-Wan was the first Black actress to land a Hollywood studio contract. Madame Sul-Te-Wan (Nellie Conley) – (1873-1959), was one of the most prominent Black actresses during the silent film era. “Nellie Wan, a Black vaudeville actress from Louisville who adopted the moniker when she transitioned to film in ...
Jun 9, 2020 · Madame Sul-Te-Wan was a pioneering stage and film actress who became one of the most prominent black performers in Hollywood during the silent film era.
She was the first Black woman contracted to appear in one of the most controversial films in American Cinematic history, "Birth of a Nation." She played the historical figure Tituba, the powerful, misunderstood victim of the Salem witch-hunts in "Maid of Salem" (1937).
