Actress, Activist Ruby Dee Dies at 91

Update at 12:27 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2014: Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino released the following statement Friday on the passing of Ruby Dee:

"It is with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to one of our own," said Astorino. "A barrier-breaking and wonderfully talented actress, Ruby Dee was blessed with beauty inside and out. It was a beauty that belied a steely grit and determination that Ruby used to fight for causes she cared deeply about. She was never as Theodore Roosevelt would say the ‘cold and timid soul’ who would stand on the sidelines. Whether it was acting or activism, Ruby Dee always stood tall and proud on center stage. As she exits the stage we give her one last round of hearty applause for a life well lived.  God Bless."

Original story: Ruby Dee, a legendary star of stage and screen, died Wednesday in New Rochelle. She was 91.

Dee's career spanned decades, during which time she was honored with numerous awards, including an Emmy, and a Grammy, and she and her late husband Ossie Davis were also inducted into the New Rochelle Walk of Fame.

Dee and Davis were among the performers who were active fighting for civil rights in the 1960s, and according to the New York Daily News she was the recipient of the National Civil Rights Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Freedom award.

Among her famous roles was her portrayal of Rachel Robinson in "The Jackie Robinson Story" 

A long-time Westchester resident, Dee gave a reading in New Rochelle in October 2012 at the Thomas Paine Cottage Museum.