Ruby Dee

Full filmography

• Love in Exile (2026)
• Hollywood Black (2024) as Self (archive footage)
• Poitier's Walter Lee (2018) as Self (archive footage)
• Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee (2014) as Self
• Betty and Coretta (2013) as Narrator
• Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal (2013) as Self
• A Thousand Words (2012) as Annie McCall
• Video Girl (2011) as Valerie
• The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll (2011) as Miss Candy
• Politics of Love (2011)
• America (2009) as Mrs. Harper
• A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School (2009) as Narrator (voice)
• American Gangster (2007) as Mama Lucas
• Steam (2007) as Doris
• All About Us (2007) as Ms. Ella
• Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson (2007) as Self
• In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema (2007) as Herself
• No. 2 (2006) as Nanna Maria
• The Way Back Home (2006) as Maude
• Discovering William Greaves (2006) as Self
• Iconoclasts (2005) as Self
• Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005) as Nanny
• Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (2004) as Self
• TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004) as (archive footage)
• Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003)
• Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years (2002) as Narrator
• Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun' (2002) as Self
• Feast of All Saints (2001) as Elsie Claviere
• Taking Back Our Town (2001) as Emelda West
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) as Mary Wilson
• A Storm in Summer (2000) as Grandmother
• Finding Buck McHenry (2000) as Mrs. Henry
• Little Bill (1999)
• Baby Geniuses (1999) as Margo
• The Unfinished Journey (1999) as Narrator (voice)
• Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999) as Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
• Passing Glory (1999) as Mommit Porter
• Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (1999) as Self
• Christianity: The First 1000 Years (1998) as Herself - Narrator
• The Wall (1998) as Mrs. Mitchell (segment "The Badge")
• A Time To Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner (1998) as Narrator
• Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood (1998) as Self
• A Simple Wish (1997) as Hortence
• Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) as Self (archive footage)
• Captive Heart: The James Mink Story (1996) as Indigo
• Mr. and Mrs. Loving (1996) as Sophia
• Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) as Grandma (voice)
• Just Cause (1995) as Evangeline Ferguson
• Tuesday Morning Ride (1995) as Jennie
• Touched by an Angel (1994) as LaBelle Springbelt
• The Stand (1994) as Mother Abagail Freemantle
• Whitewash (1994) as Grandmother (voice)
• Cop & ½ (1993) as Rachel
• The Ernest Green Story (1993) as Lydia Wilson
• After Goodbye (1993) as Narrator
• Color Adjustment (1992) as Narrator
• Middle Ages (1992) as Estelle Williams
• Jungle Fever (1991) as Lucinda Purify
• Jazztime Tale (1991) as Narrator (voice)
• Decoration Day (1990) as Rowena
• Love at Large (1990) as Corrine Dart
• Zora is My Name! (1990) as Zora Neale Hurston
• The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990) as Jackie's Mother
• Do the Right Thing (1989) as Mother Sister
• Making 'Do the Right Thing' (1989) as Self
• American Experience (1988) as Narrator (voice)
• China Beach (1988)
• Lincoln (1988) as Elizabeth Keckley
• The Golden Girls (1985) as Mammy Watkins
• Spenser: For Hire (1985)
• The Atlanta Child Murders (1985) as Faye Williams
• Go Tell It on the Mountain (1984) as Mrs. Grimes
• Reading Rainbow (1983) as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial (1983) Vocals
• American Playhouse (1982) as Mrs. Grimes
• American Playhouse (1982) as Zora Neale Hurston
• American Playhouse (1982) Writer
• Cat People (1982) as Female
• Long Day's Journey Into Night (1982) as Mary Tyrone
• All God's Children (1980) as Irene Whitfield
• The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six (1980)
• Roots: The Next Generations (1979) as Queen Haley
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979) as Grandmother Baxter
• The Kennedy Center Honors (1978) as Self
• Countdown at Kusini (1976) as Leah Matanzima
• Police Woman (1974)
• It's Good to Be Alive (1974) as Ruth Campanella
• Wedding Band (1974) as Julia Augustine
• Chelsea D.H.O. (1973) as Dr. Bianca Pearson
• Buck and the Preacher (1972) as Ruth
• On Merit (1972) as Narrator (voice)
• Black Girl (1972) as Netta's mother
• To Be Young, Gifted and Black (1972) as Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters
• Great Performances (1971) as Self
• The Sheriff (1971) as Sue Ann Lucas
• King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) as Self (archive footage)
• Deadlock (1969) as Lucinda
• The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
• Uptight (1968) as Laurie
• Uptight (1968) Writer
• The Incident (1967) as Joan Robinson
• Now is the Time (1967) as Self
• Neighbours (1966) as Vicky Kingsbury
• The Fugitive (1963) as Laura Smith
• The Great Adventure (1963) as Harriet Tubman
• Gone Are the Days! (1963) as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins
• The Balcony (1963) as Thief
• The Defenders (1961) as Catherine Collins
• A Raisin in the Sun (1961) as Ruth Younger
• Virgin Island (1959) as Ruth
• Take a Giant Step (1959) as Christine
• St. Louis Blues (1958) as Elizabeth
• Edge of the City (1957) as Lucy Tyler
• Armchair Theatre (1956) as Vicky Kingsbury
• Go Man Go (1954) as Irma Jackson
• The Oscars (1953) as Self
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Rowena Finch
• The Tall Target (1951) as Rachel
• No Way Out (1950) as Connie Brooks (uncredited)
• The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) as Rae Robinson
• The Fight Never Ends (1948)
• What a Guy (1948)
• Easy to Get (1947) as Drugstore Girl
• That Man of Mine (1946) as Joan
• Love in Syncopation (1946)