Pearl Bailey
![](/Images/godic/202502/01/Pearl_Bailey_-_publicity3645.jpg")
![Bailey, costumed in the role of Butterfly, gauges the applause following her performance of the song](/Images/godic/202502/01/PearlBailey-takes-a-call3645.jpg")
![Bailey in a 1968 Ed Sullivan Show performance.](/Images/godic/202502/01/Pearl_Bailey_Ed_Sullivan_Show_19683645.JPG")
![Daughter Dee Dee Bellson, 1999](/Images/godic/202502/01/Dee_Dee_Bellson,_19993645.jpg")
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. In 1986, she won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the ABC Afterschool Special, Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale.