In 2001, Allen opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles,[7][8] where she currently teaches young dancers. She also taught choreography to former Los Angeles Lakers dancer-turned-singer, Paula Abdul. She is the younger sister of actress/director/singer Phylicia Rashad.
Debbie Allen auditioned at the Houston Ballet Academy at the age of twelve. She was denied admission. A year later, Allen was given another chance and admitted by a Russian instructor who accidentally saw Allen perform in a show.[citation needed] Once admission recruiters from the academy became aware of the situation, they allowed Allen to stay because they recognized her talent. While at the academy, she trained under Suzelle Poole.
Allen in 1983
Her experience at the Houston Ballet Academy is not the only time Allen was refused. When she was sixteen, she had a successful audition for the North Carolina School of the Arts and was given an opportunity to demonstrate dance techniques to other prospective students applying to the institution. Unfortunately, Allen was refused admission, and was told her body was not suited for ballet.[12][13] After receiving numerous rejections, Allen decided to mainly focus on her academics and, from then on, was well on her way to the start of her acting career.[14]
In 1976, Allen made her television debut appearing in the CBS sitcom Good Times in a memorable 2-part episode titled "J.J.'s Fiancée" as J.J.'s drug-addicted fiancée, Diana. The following year, she went to star in the NBC variety show 3 Girls 3.[15] Allen later was selected to appear in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations by Alex Haley where she plays the wife of Haley. Also, that year, she made her big screen debut appearing in a supporting role in the comedy film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. In 1981, she had the important role of Sarah in the movie version of the best-selling novel Ragtime, a role that earned Audra McDonald a Tony Award for in the Broadway musical.
With The Kids from "Fame" (1983). Debbie Allen is center, with sunglasses on top of her head.
In the film Fame (1980), Allen played the role of Lydia Grant. Though the film role was relatively small role, Lydia became a central figure in the television adaptation, which ran from 1982 to 1987. During the opening montage of each episode, Grant told her students: "You've got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying ... in sweat." Allen was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Actress four times during the show's run.[3] She is the only actress to have appeared in all three screen incarnations of Fame, playing Lydia Grant in both the 1980 film and 1982 television series and playing the school principal in the 2009 remake. Allen was also lead choreographer for the film and television series, winning two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography and one Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.[5] She became the first Black woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy.[16]
After Fame, Allen focused on working off-camera and as a choreographer. She choreographed the 1988 Broadway adaptation of Stephen King's “Carrie.” Carrie was a collaboration with her fellow “Fame” alumni Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford, and Gene Anthony Ray. The show opened to mixed reviews and closed after only 16 previews and 5 performances.[17]
In an article from the Museum of Broadcast Communications, The Hollywood Reporter commented on Allen's impact as the producer-director of the television series, A Different World. The show dealt with the lives of students at the fictional historically black college, Hillman. The show ran for six seasons on NBC.[18]The Hollywood Reporter is quoted as stating that when Debbie Allen became the producer (and usually director) of A Different World after the first season, she transformed it "from a bland Cosby spin-off into a lively, socially responsible, ensemble situation comedy."[19] She directed a total of 83 episodes.
Allen has released two solo albums, Sweet Charity (1986) and Special Look (1989), which also produced several singles.[20] Also that year, she directed musical film Polly. She later directed crime drama film Out-of-Sync (1995) as well as a number of television films. She choreographed The Academy Awards Show for ten years, six of which were consecutive. In 1995, Allen directed the voice cast and lent her voice to the children's animated series C Bear and Jamal for Film Roman and Fox Kids. That same year, she starred in the NBC sitcom In the House which ran for five seasons. She co-produced the 1997 Steven Spielberg historical drama film Amistad receiving a Producers Guild of America Award.
In 2001, Allen founded the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.[8] Since 2007, Allen has participated as a judge and mentor for the U.S. version of So You Think You Can Dance. During Season 4, she stepped aside as a judge at the end of Vegas week to avoid perception of bias, since one of her former dancers, Will, had made it to the top 20.
Allen was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.[25]
For her contributions to the television industry, Debbie Allen was honored in 1991 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6904 Hollywood Boulevard in the center of Hollywood directly opposite the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.[26]
^"A Different World". Encyclopedia of Television. The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on February 10, 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2013.