Grace Moore (1) (1898–1947)

Grace Moore was born in a tiny community called Slabtown or Nough near Del Rio, Tennessee. She attended public schools and the Wilson-Greens School of Music in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1919, after making her public singing debut in a recital at the National Theater in Washington, D.C., she left school and went to New York City. There she sang in a nightclub to pay for vocal lessons. She made her Broadway debut in 1920 and become popular in café society. She made her long-awaited debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1928. She later went to Hollywood and acted and sang in films that helped to popularize opera. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1934 for her performance in One Night of Love.

She published an autobiography entitled You're Only Human Once in 1944. At age 48, she died in a plane crash near Copenhagen, Denmark after giving a performance there. A 1953 musical drama film based on her life, So This Is Love, starred Kathryn Grayson and Merv Griffin.