Ruby Elzy

Opera soprano who headlined acts at the Apollo theater, entertained the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and originated the role of Serena in Porgy and Bess.

Her first public performances happened when she was four, singing at a local church.

She was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi and raised by her mother and grandmother after her father abandoned the family.

George Gershwin himself invited her to sing the role of Serena in his Broadway masterpiece.