Nellie Wan
Nellie Crawford
Madame Sultewan
Madame Wan
Sul-Te-Wan
Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Acting
Louisville, Kentucky, USA | 1873-03-07 | 1959-02-01
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Madame Sul-Te-Wan (born Nellie Crawford; March 7, 1873 – February 1, 1959) was the first African-American actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was an American stage, film and television actress for over 50 years. The daughter of former slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the East Coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community. She became known as a character actress, appeared in high-profile films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), and easily navigated the transition to the sound films. In 1986, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
