Butterfly McQueen is best known for being cast in the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind. McQueen played the role of Prissy, maid to Scarlett O’Hara. It was McQueen’s unique, high pitched, squeaky voice that distinguished her, along with her five-foot one-inch diminutive stature.
Born as Thelma McQueen in Tampa, Florida in 1911, she grew up in Georgia and New York. She began acting on stage in 1937. She earned the stage name “Butterfly” from dancing in a butterfly ballet as part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In the 1940s and 50s she acted on radio, film and television. Frustrated by diminishing opportunities for Black actresses, she returned to Harlem. There she worked at the Mount Morris – Marcus Garvey Recreation Center. She set up a summer theater camp for children. And she went back to college, studying for a political science degree, which she received from the City College of New York at the age of 64. McQueen has been recognized by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
Read Butterfly McQueen’s papers at UW’s American Heritage Center to learn more.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.