Women of Controversy: Nina Mae McKinney

Nina Mae McKinney (1912-1967) was a Black American actress who performed in Hollywood and internationally in the 1930s. She was dubbed “The Black Garbo” and was the first African-American performer to receive a five-year contract with MGM. Yet because of racism and miscegenation codes, she was unable to gain a mainstream status. Today, she’s known as the “The First Black Movie Star.”

For Further Reading 

• Nina Mae McKinney, Who Defied the Barriers of Race to Find Stardom - The New York Times

• “The First Black Movie Star,” Nina Mae McKinney, Gets a Film Retrospective in New York

• Google Books: Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, Updated and Expanded 5th Edition

This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy -- whether deserved or not.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Willmanica. This month for talking about women who found
themselves at the center of controversy, whether deserved or not.
Today we're talking about a woman who set the blueprint
for black actresses today, a woman who, unlike her predecessors,
would soar to new and uncharted heights, but the Hays

(00:22):
Code and racist ideologies would exile her from true stardom.
Introducing Nina May McKenny. Nina was born on June twelfth,
nineteen twelve, in Lancaster, South Carolina. When she was just
twelve years old, her parents moved to New York City

(00:42):
in the hopes of finding better job opportunities, but left
young Nina behind. The reasons for not taking their daughter
vary from source to source, but what remains consistent is
that she was left in the hands of her aunt, Carrie.
For the next four years, Nina worked alongside her aunt
as a domestic for the aff want white family in town.
Her job was to deliver and collect mail, and she

(01:04):
did so with flair. To entertain herself while running errands,
Nina would perform stunts on her bicycle, so much so
the people in town took notice anytime she arrived. One
could argue that this was her first dive into showmanship.
From there, Nina continued performing. She acted, danced, and sang
in school plays until she was ready for bigger things.

(01:26):
Intent on pursuing acting full time, she packed her bags,
said her goodbyes, and set off to New York City
by herself. She was just fifteen years old. After reuniting
with her parents, Nina began to receive formal training in
the arts, and in just a year she landed a
gig on Broadway cast as a chorus girl. Nina became

(01:47):
a part of Blackbirds of nineteen twenty eight, a musical
review that would become the longest running all black show
on Broadway. One night, during her performance, Nina was spotted
by famed silent movie director King v Door. Transfixed by
her stage presence and look, he offered her the opportunity
of a lifetime to be in his first sound film.

(02:09):
The movie would be called Hallelujah. It was not only
the first sound film to have an all African American cast,
but it was also made with the intent to be
shown to all audiences, and Nina was at its center,
playing the role of Chick, a seductive entertainer who scams
men out of their money. Nina performs in a crowded
dance hall. In one of the movie's most famous scenes,

(02:31):
she can be seen adorn in a black dress with
dangly jewelry, singing to the tune of Swanne Shuffle. After
the film's release in nineteen twenty nine, critics praised Nina
for her bright eyes and singing voice. One reporter referred
to her as an honest to goodness screen star, which
was not a compliment given to black actresses freely, if
at all, and that attention. That praise led MGM to

(02:55):
offer Nina a five year contract, a first for an
African American entertainer. This move from MGM would have shot
Nina into mainstream stardom, making her a tried and true
movie star, but that never happened. The studio realized all
too late that there were no leading roles for black women.
Hollywood's racism would leave no room for opportunity. Nina was

(03:18):
relegated to small roles, and it didn't take long to
see the writing on the wall. So, like many black
performers before her, Nina left the United States and made
her way to Europe, booking club appearances in Paris, Berlin, Greece,
and many more. Nina charmed and delighted audiences with her
song and dance numbers, receiving top billing on several marquees.

(03:41):
But a stop in London would not only introduce her
to her first husband, but also to another leading role.
Nina starred as the wife of an African chief in
nineteen thirty five film Saunders of the River. She was
also the first African American entertainer to be featured on
British television. This culminated in European audiences referring to her

(04:01):
as the Black Garbo, a reference to Swedish American actress
Greta Garbo, beloved across the Pond. Nina made her way
back to Hollywood, but the opportunities for Nina shrank even
further when she returned. The Hayes Code banned images of
interracial marriages or relationships, also known as misagenation, and because

(04:21):
of this, studios wouldn't risk hiring black actresses for mainstream roles.
This left Nina to play uncredited singers or maids in
movies geared towards white audiences, or to play roles in
race films, low budget movies made for black audiences that
really only existed in those spaces. Her last credited screen

(04:43):
appearance was in the nineteen forty nine American drama Pinky.
The story follows a fair skinned black woman passing as
white and wrestling with her identity. If you believe that
this role was given to Nina, you'd be wrong. Nina
played Rosellia, the knife wielding jealous girlfriend of one of
the secondary care Because of the code, the lead was
given to white actress Jene Crane, who would later be

(05:05):
nominated for an Academy Award. Nina left the entertainment business
in the early nineteen fifties. In nineteen sixties, she moved
to New York City, where she spent the remainder of
her life in quiet obscurity. When she died of a
heart attack at fifty four years old, she didn't receive
an obituary that spoke to her long standing career, just
the cause of death and where the service would be held. Today,

(05:28):
Nina May mckenney's legacy as the first black movie star
has been solidified, and she did later receive an obituary
fit for an actress. All month, we're talking about women
of controversy. For more information, find us on Facebook and
Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my

(05:49):
favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow