The American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, and television producer took to social media with a unique 4th of July message for her avid followers.
68-year-old Debbie Allen has had an incredibly successful career throughout her life, having first hit it big in 1980 when she starred in a Broadway revival of West Side Story. Since then, she has racked up 53 acting credits to her name.
She is also a successful director, with 47 credits to her name, and producer, with 19 credits. Allen also has a deep love of dance, and even started the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, a non-profit organization that teaches a comprehensive dance curriculum to students.
Allen herself is quite a talented dancer, a skill she decided to demonstrate on the 4th of July with an Instagram post in celebration of the American holiday.
In the clip, Allen wore a tea-length flowing white skirt, a red shirt with a cape-like sleeve, and a pair of white sneakers.
Allen danced around the small floor, showing off her skills to an enamored audience, as the band played the tune behind her.
While the rest of the United States celebrated the day at home likely surrounded by friends and family, Allen was in Havana, Cuba at the time.
The post already has close on 200,000 views, and over 50,000 likes.
After her starring role in West Side Story, Allen went on to appear in the movie Fame as a dance instructor that same year. The movie was later adapted into a series spin-off, and Allen ended up winning 3 Emmy's for her choreography.
While she opened her dance studio in 2001, she has continued to act, and is currently a series regular in the hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy, playing Dr Catherine Avery/Fox.
Allen earned an honorary doctorate from the North Carolina School of the Arts, a school she had been rejected from as a teenager based on the color of her skin. It was not the only school she had been rejected from on the basis of race.
When she was 12, Allen auditioned for the Houston Ballet School in Texas. Despite an excellent audition, the school denied her entry for being black. Later, a Russian instructor who had seen her dance enrolled her in the school in secret.
By the time th administration realized what had been done, they were so impressed with her dancing that they allowed her to stay.
Her rejection from the North Carolina School of the Arts was even more shocking, as during her audition she had actually been asked to demonstrate tenchniques to others auditioning.
She was later told her "body was unsuited for ballet," something that, according to Biography.com, was something often said to dancers of color to discourage them.
During her career, Allen has also been given a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Women in Radio and Television.
Allen is currently married to former NBA star Norm Nixon, with whom she has two children. She was previously married to Winnfred Wilford.
Allen also credits a great deal of her success to her mother's example. When Allen was 10, her mother decided on a whim to move the family down to Mexico.
"She didn't know anybody in Mexico," Allen recalled. "She didn't speak Spanish. She was looking for another level of experience...I respect that so much."
Vivian Ayers Allen is now 95 years old, and her daughter took to her Instagram account with a special happy birthday message on the day.
Allen's mother grinned a huge smile in the photo, wearing a loose-fitting white dress with lace inserts on the sleeves, and a colorful lei around her neck. She appeared to be enjoying a Hawaiian themed birthday party.
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