DOROTHY DANDRIDGE

With the release of "Carmen Jones" in 1954, Dorothy Dandridge became Hollywood's "sepia sex symbol." Even so, she was never accepted as a true leading lady. Now 32 years after her death, movieland is abuzz with talk of bringing Dandridge's tragic life story to film. And the question on everybody's lips is, 'who will be the actress to star in Dorothy's tortured tale?'

Dandridge's said life story is detailed in film historian Donald Bogle's book, "Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography" from Amistad Press. Among the revelations in the biography are Dandridge's indifferent mother Ruby was a lesbian, who after leaving Dandridge's father, allowed her female lover to raise her daughters.

"The woman moved into the home with Ruby and the children," Bogle said. "The children were told to call the woman Auntie MaMa. She was a very cruel woman. A strict disciplinarian. She beat the girls. It really was physical abuse."

The bio also details Dandridge's insecurities stemming from her abusive childhood, her terrible marriage to womanizing tap dancer Harold Nicholas, and the birth of their brain-damaged daughter Lynn.

"They learned later that the little girl had been born brain-damaged and severely retarded," Bogle said. "For Dorothy Dandridge, this was the emotional scare she took to her grave. She never got over it. She always blamed herself."

Eventually Dandridge divorced and had to institutionalize Lynn. She then got her career going, peaking with an Oscar nominated performance in "Carmen Jones." After that film Dorothy's career floundered because Hollywood didn't (and still doesn't) know what to do with a black sex symbol. Dandridge, always looking for her dream love, embarked a series of ill-fated romances with "Carmen Jones" director Otto Preminger, Harry Belafonte, as well as actors James Mason, Tyrone Power and Peter Lawford. She was also involved with a major Hollywood executive and others.

"The thing we hear about her and white men, is as she became more famous her isolation (grew). It happened to other black women too. Lena Horne's second husband was white. Or you can look later at Diana Ross, Josephine Baker. It was one of the things that troubled her. She found herself cut-off from black men," Bogle said.

After a disastrous second marriage to an abusive con man, Dorothy ended up bankrupt and dead at 42 from a overdose of anti-depressants.

Her tragic story is the kind of tale upon which Oscar-winning performances are made-and just about every black actress wants the role. Whitney Houston (who owns the rights to Bogle's book), Vanessa Williams, Jasmine Guy, Toni Braxton, Tyler Collins and Angela Bassett have all expressed interest in the part. But Halle Berry, who owns the rights to Dandridge's manager's story, says she'll get her project to the screen first.

"There's no way they're gonna beat me. I'm ready to go." HEAR this story on the hour long weekend edition of RadioScope.