Dorothy Dandridge
as Bess
Pearl Bailey
as Maria
Leslie Scott
as Jake
Ruth Attaway
as Serena Robbins
Everdinne Wilson
as Annie
Earl Jackson
as Mingo
Margaret Hairston
as Lily
Antoine Durousseau
as Scipio
Helen Thigpen
as Strawberry woman
William Walker
as Undertaker
Maurice Manson
as Coroner