Claudia McNeil (August 13, 1917 – November 25, 1993) was an American actress known for premiering the role of matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of A Raisin in the Sun. She later appeared in a 1981 production of the musical version of the play, Raisin presented by Equity Library Theater. She was twice nominated for a Tony Award, first for her onstage performance in A Raisin in the Sun (1959), and again for the play Tiger Tiger Burning Bright in 1962. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for the screen version of A Raisin in the Sun in 1961.

Biography

McNeil was married when she was 19 to a husband whom she described as a "very wonderful man." She had two sons, but lost her husband in World War II. Both her sons were killed in the Korean War. Her second marriage (to Herman McCoy) ended in divorce after two years in 1964. She studied Judaism, the religion of her adoptive parents, in youth and though she maintained a great respect for it, even saying she carried a copy of both the Talmud and the Bible with her wherever she went, she converted to Catholicism in 1952. As a woman of faith McNeil was said to have been a devout Catholic.