Diahann Carroll’s Estate Offers a Taste of Old School Hollywood Glam

By Mae Hamilton

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – This Tuesday, over 150 select items from the estate of the late Hollywood icon Diahann Carroll, who passed away last October after a battle with breast cancer, will be up for auction at Bonhams . Carroll was a multi-talented Tinseltown trailblazer who built a name for herself as an actress, singer and activist and was the first African American woman in history to win a Tony Award for best actress, for her role in the Broadway musical “No Strings.” Her longtime home in the star-studded Sierra Towers building in West Hollywood made real estate headlines after it was put up for sale in January with a $4.2 million price tag. (After stewing on the market for a few months with no bites, the price was recently lowered down to $3.995 million.)

Many items that adorned, decorated and filled her charming WeHo condo will be up for grabs at Bonhams, though the collections isn’t limited to home goods  — Carroll quickly garnered a reputation as a fashion icon, and her closet and jewelry collection certainly reflect her killer sense of style. Some notable items being featured in the sale include a Steinway grand baby piano, a sculpture created by Artis Lane, an eye-catching diamond and pearl ring, a gold Tiffany pendant and Carroll’s working script for the pilot episode of “Julia.” Additionally, several items from her very elegant wardrobe are also being featured, including a few black evening gowns that feature eyebrow-raising/ breathtaking thigh-high slits. Carroll is survived by her daughter Suzanne Kay, who, in an interview with Bonhams, said that her mother “was groomed to believe the truth about herself, which is that she deserved the very best.”

Check out the gallery to see some items that will be up for auction this Tuesday.