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Anne Wiggins Brown (born Annie Wiggins Brown August 9, 1912 - died March 13, 2009) was an African...

Anne Wiggins Brown (born Annie Wiggins Brown August 9, 1912 - died March 13, 2009) was an African American soprano who created the role of "Bess" in the original production of George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. She was also a radio and concert singer. She settled in Norway in her 30's and later became a Norwegian citizen. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Brown was the daughter of Harry F. Brown, a physician, and his wife, the former Mary Allen Wiggins. Her father was the grandson of a slave and her mother's parents were of black, Cherokee Indian, and Scottish-Irish origins. She had three sisters. As a young child, Brown showed a great musical talent and according to family legend she could sing a perfect scale at just 9 months old. From a very early age she experienced racial prejudice, being rejected from a Baltimore Catholic elementary school because she was African-American. Brown trained at Morgan College and then applied to the Peabody Institute, but was rejected from the school due to her race. Undaunted, Brown continued on to the Juilliard School in New York after being encouraged to audition there by the wife of the owner of The Baltimore Sun. At the age