Editor’s Note
This article highlights the recent auction of Diahann Carroll’s estate by Bonhams, celebrating the pioneering actress and singer who broke racial barriers in Hollywood. Carroll, who passed away in 2019, was also a dedicated advocate for breast cancer awareness.
Bonhams recently honored one black entertainer who broke Hollywood racial boundaries during her expansive career. Diahann Carroll rose to prominence as a performer when it was rare to see black actors on TV screens. Bonhams held an auction of the late entertainer’s estate last week in Los Angeles.
Carroll died of breast cancer last year in Los Angeles at the age of 84. First diagnosed in 1993, she worked to raise awareness of the disease and was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer organization serving the Los Angeles Mission’s women’s outreach.
Bonhams facilitated Carroll’s estate sale on March 10, which sold 94 percent by lot and 97 percent by value, for a total of $396,176.
Diahann Carroll was an actress and singer cast in some of the earliest Hollywood studio films to prominently feature black actors. She was also the first black actress to win a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Among her other film and television roles was a stint on the iconic 1980s soap opera “Dynasty.”
Highlights of her career included a starring role on “Julia,” beginning in 1968. It was the first time a black entertainer starred in a television series as a character other than a domestic worker and it earned Carroll a Golden Globe Award.
The sale’s highlight was a diamond and cultured pearl “toi et moi” ring, which fetched $56,325, falling within its pre-sale estimate.
Other jewelry highlights were a Tiffany & Co. gold zodiac medallion, circa 1970, which sold for $21,325, well above its $5,000-$7,000 prediction, and a ruby and diamond brooch, estimated to garner between $10,000 and $12,000, that ended up selling for $9,450.
In total, the sale featured 155 lots of memorabilia items, furniture, personal items, photos, clothing, handbags and jewelry.
