Portrait of Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

Acting

Biography

Bessie Smith was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.

Born: April 15, 1894

Place of Birth: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Filmography

2004
The Story Of The Blues

as Self (archive footage)

2002
It's Black Entertainment

as Self (archive footage)

2001
A Huey P. Newton Story

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1999
Blues Masters

as Self (archive footage)

1993
1929
St. Louis Blues

as Bessie - Battered Wife