Diahann Carroll shares her career highs, lows

Diahann Carroll is a survivor, overcoming bad relationships, racism and cancer. Her new memoir reflects the grit and determination that helped make her one of our most enduring stars.

Although probably best known for her role as Dominique Deveraux in “Dynasty,” Carroll has accomplished much, much more during her lifetime. She is a Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actress of stage and film. She has been nominated for an Oscar, a Grammy and an Emmy, and starred in her own groundbreaking network sitcom, “Julia.” Her recent work in “Grey’s Anatomy” earned her yet another Emmy nomination.

Her journey hasn’t always been an easy one. She overcame a series of disastrous relationships, including an affair with Sidney Portier and an abusive marriage to Vic Damone. She faced racism — both subtle and overt, with courage and resolve.

Two of the most stunning examples of racism involved composers Richard Rodgers and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. At an opening-night cast party for “No Strings,” Rodgers disinvited Carroll because the society maven hosting the party didn’t want her children to be confused when they saw a black woman who was sophisticated and elegant, since, as she explained, in real life “they don’t exist.”

Several decades later, when she auditioned for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Toronto production of “Sunset Boulevard,” the composer went out of his way to humiliate her. As Carroll observes, the racism of Rodgers and Webber was painful, but nothing compared to breast cancer, which she also overcame.

Her memoir is surprisingly candid, and always graceful.