- Born
- Died
- Birth nameIsabel Geraldine Washington
- Isabel Washington was born on May 23, 1908 in Savannah, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for St. Louis Blues (1929), Dave Apollon and His Russian Stars (1929) and Adam Clayton Powell (1989). She was married to Adam Clayton Powell Jr.. She died on May 4, 2007 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- SpouseAdam Clayton Powell Jr.(March 8, 1933 - 1945) (divorced, 1 child)
- RelativesFredi Washington(Sibling)
- Sister of Fredi Washington, who portrayed Peola in the original Imitation of Life (1934) with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers.
- she and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. married despite the strong protestations of father Adam Clayton Sr., who balked at his son marrying a divorced showgirl. Three thousand people attended the ceremony at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City.
- Like her sister Fredi Washington, Isabel started off as a chorus girl. At one time she was a Harlem Cotton Club dancer and performed both on and off Broadway.
- She was separated from her first husband and had a two-year-old son when she met Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in New York City. He was in the audience at the Cotton Club one night and she was a chorus girl in the show.
- The Powell Cottage, known as "The Bunny Cottage", was owned by her husband Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African American congressman from the east coast since Reconstruction, and also a Reverend at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. He was a highly influential leader of the Democratic majority during the passage of the civil rights legislation of the 1960's and 1970's. The home was left to Isabel following their divorce in 1945.
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