Lene Horne was the personification of style, grace, beauty and poise. She was truly one of my greatest inspirations.
While planning my wedding, I made collages and clipped images of her (as well as Audrey Hepburn) because they were the main two icons I looked up to. I literally walked into Kleinfelds and handed the consultant, who was to help me find my perfect wedding dress, a photo of Lena Horne and simply asked her, "can we work with this?"
There is something to be said about women like Ms. Horne. As an African American woman who had an instant love affair with theater and the arts, I appreciated the gumption she possessed. She blazed a pathway for the future of black performers and their rights to finer movie roles. For that alone, we should all be grateful.
Words of wisdom from the great Lena Horne:
"Always be smarter than the people who hire you"
"It's not the load that breaks you, it's the way you carry it"
A few of my favorite images of her:
[Lena embracing her daughter Gail Jones]
[my absolute favorite of her, and the image I gave the consultant]
R.I.P Lena Mary Calhoun Horne. A true class act.
She was amazing until the end.
ReplyDeleteGreat story about your dress & the photo.
I wacthed the Wiz the other week.... ever since I was a child my eyes teared up at the end when she sang... I thought I was adult enough to make it through this time---didn't happen. :)
I absolutely loved her and her style. From her in film to on Sesame Street and The Cosby Show/A Different World. Definitely a beauty and I can see your wedding dress in that picture of her that you said was a fave.
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