Juanita Moore, an actress who was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Lana Turner's companion in "Imitation of Life", collapsed and died in her Los Angeles home on Wednesday, confirmed her grandson, actor Kirk Kelleykahn.

According to the actor, Moore was 99 years old when she died. Accounts of the actress' real age have remained unconfirmed over the years.
Juanita Moore made headlines for being the fifth African American actor to be norminated for an Academy Award, receiving the recognition for the Douglas Sirk film that eventually gained popularity and a cult following. The 1959 drama film was based on a novel by Fannie Hurst and while simply a remake of the 1934 original, it depicts the story of a struggling and trouble white actress rise to fame, her friendship with Moore's character and how the two join forces to raise their daughters as unwed mothers.

Their roles in the movie garnered supporting actress nods for both Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner, who played the role of Moore's daughter in the film. Kohner is a mixture of Czech and Mexican descent.

Along the end, Turner's character becomes the star she longs to be and her best friend is a maid. The death of Juanita Moore's character in the movie created a much more sentimental ending.

"The Oscar prestige was fine, but I worked more before I was nominated," Juanita Moore shared in a 1967 interview with the Los Angel told the Los Angeles Times in 1967. "Casting directors think an Oscar nominee is suddenly in another category. They couldn't possibly ask you to do one or two days' work. You wouldn't accept it. And I'm sure I would."

The "Imitation of Life" star also spent several years working on a theater career, starting from the Los Angeles' Ebony Showcase Theater during the earlier past of the 1950s. The black-run theater featured Moore who was also a member of the esteemed Cambridge Players along with other actresses Esther Rolle and Helen Martin.

Moore's grandson is the current Chief Executive Officer and president of the Cambridge group.