She was the first female cab driver in New York City.
Member of the American Negro Theater, she played in many Broadway productions.
She was an American playwright and film and stage actress.
She is also known for being the first woman to work as a licensed taxi driver in New York City, which she began doing in 1942.
Despite being blacklisted during the Red Scare in the 1950s, she wrote five plays and founded the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players in Harlem, New York, remaining active in mentoring African-American actors in New York City.