Lena Horne dies at 92; dynamic singer and activist broke barriers in Hollywood: Lena Horne, 92, an electrifying performer who shattered racial boundaries by changing the way Hollywood presented black women and who enjoyed a six-decade singing career on stage, television and in films, died Sunday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.Ms. Horne, considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, came to the attention of Hollywood in 1942. She was the first black woman to sign a meaningful long-term contract with a major studio, a contract that said she would never have to play a maid.
'What people tend not to fully comprehend today is what Lena Horne did to transform the image of the African American woman in Hollywood,' said Donald Bogle, a film historian.
