She also acted in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979), Long Day's Journey into Night (1982), Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and The Stand (1994).

[10] Dee joined the American Negro Theatre as an apprentice, working with Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and Hilda Simms.

During this time she took a role in the film noir Edge of the City (1957) starring alongside John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier.

In 1959 she gained prominence for originating the role of Ruth Younger in the Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun which premiered on Broadway.

She returned to Broadway in the Ossie Davis satirical farce Purlie Victorious (1961) portraying Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins.

Her career in acting crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including the films A Raisin in the Sun, in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects, and Edge of the City.

[9] She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role on The Doctors and the Nurses (1964).

She appeared as Cora Sanders, a Marxist college professor, in season 1, episode 14 of Police Woman, entitled "Target Black" which aired on Friday night, January 3, 1975.

She played Queen Haley in the miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979) for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

[7] She starred in the television films portraying Mary Tyrone in Long Day's Journey into Night (1982) and Mrs. Grimes in Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985).

[9][16] Dee portrayed Mama Lucas in the Ridley Scott directed crime film American Gangster (2007).

For her performance she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress losing to Tilda Swinton for her role in the legal thriller Michael Clayton (2007).

At 85 years of age, Dee is currently the third oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress, behind Gloria Stuart and Judi Dench (both 87).

Under the direction of Maurice Peress, they performed Earl Robinson's The Lonesome Train: A Music Legend for Actors, Folk Singers, Choirs, and Orchestra, in which Dee was the narrator.

Ruby Wallace married blues singer Frankie Dee Brown in 1941, and began using his middle name as her stage name.

[9] Three years later she married actor Ossie Davis, whom she met while costarring in Robert Ardrey's 1946 Broadway play Jeb.

[22] Together, Dee and Davis wrote an autobiography in which they discussed their political activism and their decision to have an open marriage (later changing their views).

[23][24] Together they had three children: son, blues musician Guy Davis, and two daughters, Nora Day and Hasna Muhammad.

[27] Dee was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis were among the signatories, along with Robert Altman, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sarandon, and Howard Zinn, among others.

She was also inducted into the Westchester County Women's Hall of Fame on March 30, 2007, joining such other honorees as Hillary Clinton and Nita Lowey.

Throughout her seven-decade career, Dee embraced different creative platforms with her various interpretations of black womanhood and also used her gifts to champion for Human Rights.

[9] A public memorial celebration honoring Dee was held on September 20, 2014, at the Riverside Church in Upper Manhattan.