Hattie McDaniel died of breast cancer on October 26, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, at the Motion Picture House.
Hattie McDaniel died on October 26, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, after a battle with breast cancer. She passed away at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, a facility she had long supported for aging and infirm members of the entertainment industry.
At the time of her death, McDaniel was 59 years old (though some sources dispute her exact birth year, placing her age at either 57 or 59). Her death came at the relative peak of her later career success, having starred as the title character in the CBS radio and later television adaptations of Beulah, making her one of the first Black women to headline her own radio series.
In a final act of the segregation that had shadowed much of her life and career, McDaniel's wish to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery (now Hollywood Forever Cemetery) was denied by its owners because of her race. She was instead buried at Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1999, Hollywood Forever Cemetery's new owner offered to have her remains moved and reinterred there, but her family declined, choosing instead to honor her original resting place with a memorial marker at Hollywood Forever.
McDaniel's death marked the end of a groundbreaking career that spanned blues recording, radio, and film, during which she overcame significant racial barriers while working within an entertainment industry that severely limited opportunities for Black performers. Her legacy continued to grow long after her death, cementing her place as a pioneering figure in American entertainment history.