Legendary actress and Civil Rights activist Ruby Dee died on Wednesday, June 11, at the age of 91.

Dee, who was best known for her iconic roles in "A Raisin in the Sun" and "American Gangster," had an illustrious seven-decade career on television, stage and the big screen. However, alongside her Hollywood fame, she was also renowned for her social and cultural activism and work in the Civil Rights Movement.

According to her representative Michael Livingston, she died peacefully at her home in New Rochelle, New York, reports CNN.

Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, in 1922, but she was raised in Harlem, New York. In 1941, she married blues singer Frankie Dee. Although the two divorced in 1945, she kept her surname.

She later married actor and activist Ossie Davis in 1948 after the two met while working together on the stage play Jeb in 1946. Unlike many of today's couples in Hollywood, Dee and Davis remained married for five decades. They also worked together on camera and as activists until his death in 2005. The couple was declared the master and mistress of ceremonies at the 1963 March on Washington, and she was friends with both the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

"It was so poignant, she was so beautiful and articulate and one of our greatest entertainers," said Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theater, according to USA Today. "We were so honored to have her with us as long as we did.

"Both Ruby and Ossie not only made really significant contributions to the arts, but they were also good citizens of the world," Procope said. "Their activism, their social responsibility -- that was just as important to them as the art. They were always on the forefront of social issues. They led by example. That's the way they lived their lives."

Dee appeared in the onscreen 1946 musical "That Man of Mine," but her acting career took off after she starred in "The Jackie Robinson Story" in 1950.

Later in her life, co-starred with Davis in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and in his 1991 film "Jungle Fever."

She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in "American Ganster" (2007). She also won an Emmy and a Grammy for other work in her lifetime.

Gil Robertson IV of the African American Film Critics Association released a statement, praising Dee's contributions:

"The members of the African American Film Critics Association are deeply saddened at the loss of actress and humanitarian Ruby Dee," Robertson said. "Throughout her seven-decade career, Ms. Dee embraced different creative platforms with her various interpretations of black womanhood and also used her gifts to champion for Human Rights. Her strength, courage and beauty will be greatly missed."