Actor

Madame Sul-Te-Wan

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

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Acting credits

Established

Large and steady acting portfolio.

TMDB popularity

0.3

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 55Series: 0

TMDB ID: 103017

IMDb ID: nm0837801

Known for: Acting

Born: March 7, 1873

Died: February 1, 1959

Age: 85

Place of birth: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Gender: Female

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1915 - 1958

Years active: 44

Average TMDB rating: 6.11

Wikidata: Q4981150

Also known as

Nellie Wan • Nellie Crawford • Madame Sultewan • Madame Wan • Sul-Te-Wan

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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Madame Sul-Te-Wan (born Nellie Crawford; March 7, 1873 – February 1, 1959) was the first African-American actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was an American stage, film and television actress for over 50 years. The daughter of former slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the East Coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community. She became known as a character actress, appeared in high-profile films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), and easily navigated the transition to the sound films. In 1986, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.