Fredi Washington

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Fredi Washington (Fredericka Carolyn Washington) (December 23, 1903 - June 28, 1994) was an African-American film actress of the 1930s. She is most notable for portraying Peola, the daughter who passes for white in the 1934 Academy Award-nominated film Imitation of Life. She had also appeared with Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones in 1933.

Washington, a civil rights activist and head of the Negro Actors Guild, turned down a number of opportunities to pass for white and become a movie star. Possessing an extremely light complexion and green eyes, Washington found it hard to win roles and audiences, as she was too elegant to play stereotypical "maid" roles, yet because she was mixed-race, Hollywood didn't dare offer her romantic roles with the leading white actors of the day. When she played roles in films for black audiences, she often wore heavy makeup to darken her skin.

After Imitation of Life, Washington had one more decent role (4th billing) in Fox's One Mile from Heaven (1937) [1]. Realising that there was no future in Hollywood for an African-American actress with ivory toned skin, Washington quit appearing in movies altogether.

Washington's sister, Isabelle Washington, was also an actress and was married to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., the first African-American elected to Congress in New York state. A native of Savannah, Georgia, Fredi Washington died of a stroke on June 28, 1994 in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 90.