Edna Mae Harris
Acting
1910-09-29 · New York City, New York, USA
Edna Mae Harris was one of the best-known Black actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in many all-black cast independently produced movies of the day. An attractive woman who had a soulful voice, personality and sex appeal, she could sing, dance and act. The personification of a Harlem performer, Edna found fame by playing in both stage and screen versions of The Green Pastures (1936) as Zeba. Audiences loved her, and she received glorious reviews, so it was no surprise when Hollywood asked her to repeat her role on screen to wide acclaim. Edna Mae was very much in demand starring in some of the top Black movies such as Spirit of Youth (1938), Paradise in Harlem (1939), Sunday Sinners (1940), The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940), and Tall, Tan, and Terrific (1946), showing her excellent acting skills in drama and comedy. Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced Black films.
Filmography(14)
movieMidnight Ramble
as Self - Actress · 1994 · 7.3
tvI Remember Harlem
as self · 1981 · 0.0
movieStage Door Canteen
as Sun Tan Girl (uncredited) · 1943 · 6.3
movieLegs Ain't No Good
as · 1942 · 0.0
movieStolen Paradise
as Maid · 1940 · 10.0
movieSunday Sinners
as Corrine Aiken · 1940 · 10.0
movieThe Notorious Elinor Lee
as Fredi Welsh · 1940 · 4.0
movieLying Lips
as Elsie Bellwood · 1939 · 5.0
movieParadise in Harlem
as Doll Davis · 1939 · 5.0
movieSpirit of Youth
as Mary Bowdin · 1938 · 6.1
movieThe Green Pastures
as Zeba · 1936 · 6.3
movieBullets or Ballots
as Rose - Lee's Maid (uncredited) · 1936 · 6.6
movieFury
as Black Woman (uncredited) · 1936 · 7.5
moviePrivate Number
as Lulu (Uncredited) · 1936 · 6.7