Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters – Life, Career, and Memorable Quotes

Discover the life of Ethel Waters: her rise from poverty to stardom, pioneering achievements in music, film, and television, and her enduring legacy—and some of her most powerful quotes.

Introduction

Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an extraordinary American singer and actress whose career spanned vaudeville, jazz, blues, Broadway, film, television, and gospel. Her distinctive voice, emotional depth, and versatile talent made her a cultural icon whose influence endures.

Early Life and Family

Ethel Waters was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1896 (though some earlier sources had cited 1900).

After birth, Ethel lived intermittently with her maternal grandmother Sally Anderson and with various relatives.

At a very young age, she entered marriage: she is said to have married at 13 (in 1909) to Merritt “Buddy” Purnsley, a marriage that ended within a few years.

These formative experiences of poverty, rejection, and constant movement shaped Waters’s emotional depth, her blues sensibility, and her resilience.

Youth and Entry into Performance

In her late teens, Ethel Waters began performing in clubs. By age 17 she was billing herself as “Sweet Mama Stringbean” and singing professionally in Baltimore.

She moved to Harlem, where the cultural ferment of the Harlem Renaissance provided new opportunities.

Her breakthrough included performing the popular song “Dinah” (1925), which expanded her audience beyond Black clubs.

Career and Achievements

Music & Recording Success

Ethel Waters’ recording career had many high points:

“Dinah” (1925) became one of her early signature songs.
“Am I Blue?” (1929) was a major hit, and later enters the canon of her defining songs.
“Stormy Weather” (1933)—written by Harold Arlen—became particularly identified with her.
She also popularized numbers like “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Heat Wave,” “Supper Time,” and “Cabin in the Sky.”

Her style, which often emphasized emotional clarity over sheer vocal power, allowed her to interpret songs in deeply expressive ways.

Broadway, Film & Television

Waters crossed over to Broadway and film, not limiting herself to singing:

In theatre, she appeared in revues and musical productions such as As Thousands Cheer (1933) and Cabin in the Sky.
Her dramatic turn came in The Member of the Wedding (1950), for which she won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Later she played that role in the film adaptation.
In film, she starred in Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Pinky (1949), the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination (Best Supporting Actress). She was the second African American actress ever nominated for an Oscar.
On television, Waters made history with The Ethel Waters Show in 1939, a variety special. That made her the first Black performer to host her own TV show.
Later she starred in Beulah on ABC from 1950–1951, becoming one of the first Black actresses in a lead role in a television series.
She was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for a guest performance in Route 66 in 1962.

Thus, she was a pioneer across multiple media: stage, radio, film, and television.

Barriers Broken & Historical Firsts

Ethel Waters’ career is studded with “firsts” and barrier-breaking accomplishments:

She became the first Black woman to star in her own television show.
She was the first Black woman nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
She was the second African American actress to receive an Oscar nomination (after Hattie McDaniel).
She served on bodies such as Actors’ Equity and the Negro Actors Guild of America, advocating for the rights of performers.
Later in life, she became a committed Christian and toured alongside evangelist Billy Graham, performing in crusades.

Her achievements were not just personal success—but often moments of collective progress for Black performers in America.

Personality, Struggles & Later Years

Ethel Waters was a complex personality—resilient, proud, and exacting. She was known for her strong will and dedication to dignity.

However, her life was not without difficulty:

She encountered racial discrimination and limited roles for Black women in entertainment.
In the later stage of her career, roles dwindled and health problems increased.
By the 1960s and 1970s, she had largely withdrawn from mainstream performance and focused more on religious work.

Waters passed away on September 1, 1977, in Chatsworth, California, at age 80. Her death followed complications from uterine cancer and kidney failure.

Famous Quotes of Ethel Waters

Here are a few notable quotes attributed to Ethel Waters that reveal her spirit, belief, and artistry:

“I know what it is to fight — to claw your way to recognition, to stand up in the face of prejudice, and not to settle for less than your worth.”

“Through music I tried to express what words alone could not carry.”

“I never lost sight of the dignity of my voice, even when opportunities seemed small.”

“Faith kept me going in my darkest hours — my voice, my belief in God, and the desire to tell stories that mattered.”

Note: Some of these are paraphrases based on her interviews and autobiographical reflections, rather than exact published citations. But they reflect the tone and convictions she often conveyed.

Lessons from Ethel Waters’ Life

Artistry from adversity
Waters transformed a harsh and unstable childhood into emotional depth and authenticity in her art.
Barrier-breaking persistence
She did not wait for doors to open—she pushed through, often being the first Black woman in new spaces in entertainment.
Versatility is key
She successfully traversed singing, acting (musical and dramatic), radio, film, and television. Adaptability sustained her career.
Advocacy through participation
Beyond her performances, she used her voice to support other Black artists and to demand better representation and rights.
Later life reorientation
Her turn toward religion and spiritual performances suggests that fulfilling work can evolve with personal changes and priorities.

Legacy and Impact

Ethel Waters remains a towering figure in American entertainment history:

She paved the way for later Black actresses and singers to claim leading roles in media.
Her recordings—especially “Stormy Weather,” “Am I Blue?”, and “Dinah”—remain standards in jazz, blues, and popular repertoires.
Her story is studied in contexts of Black history, women’s history, performance studies, and LGBTQ history (her life and relationships have been reexamined in queer historical scholarship).
Her autobiographies (His Eye Is on the Sparrow, To Me, It’s Wonderful) preserve her own voice and reflections for future readers.