- Was going to star in The Duke Is Tops (1938) as Ethel Andrews, but she became sick while in Australia performing, and the role was given to Lena Horne; that movie made Horne a star.
- In 1978 she received a posthumous award from the American Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
- King Vidor offered the youthful teenage McKinney the leading actress role in "Hallelujah" when intended star Ethel Waters proved unavailable for undetermined reasons. Ironically, two decades later, McKinney played a decidedly supporting role in "Pinky," a film in which Waters was Oscar-nominated.
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