Per Deadline, the Emmy and Grammy-winning actor, who had been recovering from pneumonia, passed away at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 30. Born Patricia Ann Carroll on May 5, 1927, the Shreveport, Louisiana native found an early love of theater after her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a child. Carroll rose to prominence following her breakout role in 1947's Hometown Girl.
Diahann Carroll, Oscar-nominated, pioneering actress, dies
Carroll won an Emmy for her work on Sid Caesar's House in 1956, one of several specials produced and headlined by the comedian. Carroll also went on to make regular appearances on a plethora of variety shows, including The Carol Burnett Show. Carroll's recurring role on the sitcom Make Room for Daddy from 1961 to 1964 eventually became a major point of contention during her 1963 lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera, with whom she had signed on for a starring role on The Jetsons as the titular family's matriarch. Carroll only voiced Jane Jetson for one episode before being replaced, and the suit was closed in Hanna-Barbera's favor in 1965.
Carroll is best known for her iconic role as Ursula in Disney's 1989 adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Carroll returned for the 2000 sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, to voice Ursula's similarly villainous sister Morgana. She also reprised her original part for 2001's Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, as well as subsequent appearances by Ursula. While the most recent of these small screen appearances came in a 2020 episode of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Carroll also voiced Ursula for each of the character's appearances in the long-running Kingdom Hearts video game franchise.