Horne started her journey as a star pretty early when she joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the young age of 16. She was driven and unstoppable and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood.
Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963 and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television while releasing well-received record albums. She was also one stylish peach! Horne announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and her music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in the show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000. However, she will always live on as one of the greatest performers of her time paving the way for other women of color to be seen as the beautiful, talented, and smart women they are.