Скачать или смотреть The Price of Dignity: Why Butterfly McQueen Walked Away from Hollywood

In 1939, Butterfly McQueen skyrocketed to fame for her role as Prissy in Gone with the Wind. Though the part made her a household name, she grew to despise the industry that only saw her as a caricature. Tired of being offered nothing but roles as subservient maids or slaves, she famously remarked that while she didn't mind being funny, she refused to be depicted as "stupid".

In a radical move for the time, she chose her principles over her paycheck and walked away from the limelight without any fanfare. She traded movie sets for a political science degree from City College of New York and worked ordinary jobs in department stores, largely unrecognized by the public. McQueen never returned to major cinema, passing away at 84 in 1995. Her life remains a powerful legacy of quiet defiance and the rare courage to say "no" to fame when it demands the sacrifice of one's dignity.