Mary-Louise Parker

Marisa Tomei

Diahann Carroll, 84, best known as the first black woman to star on a TV series in a non-servant role, “Julia” in 1968, but she was a barrier breaker on Broadway too. Making her Broadway debut in 1954, at the age of 19, she became the first black woman to win the Tony Award for Best Actress for a musical, for “No Strings” in 1962.She returned to Broadway in 1982 to portray Doctor Martha Livingstone in “Agnes of God” and even this was reportedly a first — the first black actress to replace a white actress in a play on Broadway