“You want fame? Well, fame costs.” These were the immortal words uttered by Debbie Allen’s character Lydia Grant in the television series Fame. But surely Debbie Allen – a woman with so much talent – was destined for stardom no matter what the price?
It didn’t always feel like that for Allen. As a young girl growing up in segregated America, there were obstacles that she’d have to overcome solely due to the colour of her skin. The fact that she’s now an award-winning icon is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to Debbie Allen’s own experience with fame.
Born Deborah Kaye Allen in January 1950, the star-to-be started life in Houston, Texas. The world was a different place back then and Allen was cruelly limited in what she could do because of her race. In fact, the likes of hotels, restaurants and cinemas were divided up into spaces for white and black visitors.
You can’t stop a young girl from dreaming though. After all, Allen had a remarkable talent: dancing. She was just three when she first experienced this art form and by the age of four she already aspired to make a career out of it.
“I grew up with a lot of ideas about myself,” she explained during an interview with People in 2020. “I always wanted to dance. I don’t remember ever not dancing. I used to sit as a little girl, contemplating the stars and the universe.”
The sky should have been the limit for Allen – and in the end, it was. But long before she became a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood, a young Allen was forced to experience the cold reality that sadly defined the youth of black America during this part of the 20th Century.
The first stepping-stone to a career as a dancer did not go to plan when Allen was rejected from her dream dance school during an audition for the Houston Ballet Academy. The reason? She was black. Allen ultimately found a way to attend the school after earning the support of a reputable instructor who secret enrolled her, but it wasn’t the smooth path she rightly deserved.
Thankfully, Allen remained determined. In an interview on Oprah: Where Are They Now in 2014, Allen reflected on the speed bumps she’d encountered in her youth. She said: “Growing up in Houston in the ‘50s and ‘60s was many things. It was wonderful; it was a challenge. The challenges were the racial divide and because of that, I couldn’t go to the dance school that I really wanted to go to.”
While Allen’s resilience is – and was – so admirable to behold, she did find herself pushed to her limits at some stages in her youth. This includes the time when she was denied a place at the North Carolina School of Arts. On this occasion, she was told that she didn’t have the right ‘body type’ to become a student. This was a common reason given to black dancers to stop them from entering the industry.
It was clearly a huge blow for Allen – but certainly not one that she couldn’t overcome. During an interview with People, she recalled:
“That was just devastating. It still hurts. It stopped me until my mother made me know that I could not have a pity party.”
The setback was ultimately brief, with Allen eventually securing a place at Howard University in Washington DC. It was here where she was able to perfect her craft while she studied a degree in Drama. She graduated in 1971 and almost immediately doors began to open for her. She was finally on track to achieving the career she’d dreamed about since she was a young girl.
Allen initially scooped up roles on Broadway, including a stint playing Beneatha in Raisin in 1973. By 1980 she was already in the running for her first Tony Award for her role as Anita in the revival of West Side Story. The best was still yet to come though.
In 1980 Allen went on to land the role of Lydia Grant in the movie Fame. She eventually reprised this role in the ultra popular television spin-off in 1982, in which she appeared for 136 episodes while also acting as principal choreographer.
A number of award nominations followed, including wins at the Emmys and Golden Globes. In the latter, she made history in becoming the first black woman to pick up the gong for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
While Fame came to an end in 1987, Allen would continue to kick open doors that had previously been closed to women of colour in show business. This includes taking up roles such as director and producer. Most notably, she’s renowned for her contributions as an executive producer on the long-running drama television Grey’s Anatomy.
This isn’t just evidence of Allen’s ability to reach amazing heights in Hollywood, but also her ability to instigate change. She’s been praised for using her role to shine a light on black characters and the struggles they face in a modern day America. In fact, she has even been applauded by the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes.
Photo By Eugene Powers
In an interview with Elle in 2019, Rhimes said: “She put people of colour on television and displayed them in ways that they hadn’t been seen before. She told stories that hadn’t been told before. She gave people opportunities who hadn’t been given opportunities before.”
Of course, in many ways Allen now doubles up as an activist who uses her platform to fight for change. She’s highly respected for speaking out on issues of racial inequality in the US, including highlighting the dangers of gun violence and drug culture. Just last year the actress marched in protest just days after George Floyd was killed by police in Minnesota.
There are indeed many lessons to be taken from Allen’s life as she evolved from a young black girl being turned away from schools to one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.
Yes, ‘fame costs’ as Allen said in Fame.
There will be ups and there will be downs, but nothing can stand in the way of a person’s dreams if the path is lined with grit and determination – not to mention a lot of talent.