---
name: "Etta Moten"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/etta-moten"
fi1m_id: "etta-moten"
imdb_id: "nm0609323"
tmdb_id: 953424
wikidata_id: "Q3742333"
roles: []
born: "5 November 1901"
died: "2 January 2004"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T01:17:34.799764+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Etta Moten

## Identity

Etta Moten

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/etta-moten
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** etta-moten
- **IMDb ID:** nm0609323
- **TMDB ID:** 953424
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3742333
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_Moten_Barnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3742333, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0609323/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/953424

Actor. Born 5 November 1901 in San Antonio. Died 2 January 2004.

## Details

- **Born:** 5 November 1901, San Antonio
- **Died:** 2 January 2004
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_Moten_Barnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3742333, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0609323/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/953424

## Biography

Etta Moten was an American actress and contralto singer. She studied voice and drama at the University of Kansas, graduating in 1931, and began her career in stage revues in New York before moving to Hollywood.

In 1933 she appeared in several films, including an uncredited singing role as a war widow in *Gold Diggers of 1933* and as a Brazilian singer in *Flying Down to Rio*. She also provided uncredited vocal dubbing for other actresses. In 1934 she became the first African-American woman to perform at the White House in the twentieth century.

Moten later starred as Bess in the 1943 Broadway revival of *Porgy and Bess*. She married journalist Claude Barnett in 1934 and worked as a radio presenter in Chicago.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, blackpast.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Gold Diggers of 1933* (1933), Fi1m 82, as 'Remember My Forgotten Man' Singer (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/gold-diggers-of-1933.md)

## Complete filmography (8)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Born to Sing* (1942), as Soloist - 'Ballad for Americans' (uncredited)
- *A Day at the Races* (1937), as Black Singer (uncredited)
- *The Green Pastures* (1936), as Angel (uncredited)
- *Operator 13* (1934), as Slave At Medicine Show (uncredited)
- *Flying Down to Rio* (1933), as Colored Singer
- *Professional Sweetheart* (1933), as Glory Eden (singing voice) (uncredited)
- *Gold Diggers of 1933* (1933), as 'Remember My Forgotten Man' Singer (uncredited) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/gold-diggers-of-1933.md)
- *Ladies They Talk About* (1933), as Singing Inmate (voice) (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Etta Moten](https://film.one/media/person/3853756/gallery-0f785641d280.jpg) Etta Moten — Maud Cuney-Hare, 1874-1936, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Maud_Cuney_Hare-378-Etta_Moten.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Etta Moten](https://film.one/media/person/3853756/gallery-2fc547af873c.jpg) Etta Moten — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 3 won

- Candace Award 1983: Candace Award (won)
- honorary degree from Spelman College 1983: honorary degree from Spelman College (won)
- Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame 1979: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/etta-moten