Shonda Rhimes (shondarhimes) on casting childhood Idol Diahann Carroll in GreysAnatomy
The prolific TV creator was"freaked out" when the actress, who died Oct. 4 at age 84, agreed to play Preston's mother:"It was a really big deal for me."
I first saw her in movies, because I watched a lot of old movies growing up. But she was the first African American woman with a show on network television, and she did it in a beautiful, dignified, elegant way. She didn't play anybody's maid. I remember she had this quote — I liked it so much, I wrote it down — "If you're not invited to the party, throw your own" — and that's what she did. She threw her own party.
She gave such great advice, some stuff I will always cherish about working in this business and just being who you are, about how to be a woman, how to stand in this strange light you're cast in. There was a very odd spotlight on me — I was feeling very visible in a way that I wasn't sure I was comfortable with — and she saw that and understood it and provided me with some mentorship that was special. The last time I saw her was at anBlack Women in Hollywood Awards.
A version of this story appears in the Oct. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine,
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