Son of Ellis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Benjamin was born in  Atlanta, Georgia , the  only child  of Sharon (Benjamin) Hodo (d. 2013), a  single mother  who sold real estate, and Lawrence Harvey Walker (d. 2014), a collections agent.  He is of  African-American  and  Native American  descent. Growing up in  Atlanta, Georgia ,  East Point, Georgia  and  Buckhead , he attended Sarah Smith Elementary School, Sutton Middle School, Northside High School and Tri-Cities High School.

Ledisi Anibade Young born March 28,1972 is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter and actress. Ledisi is known and respected for her jazz influenced vocals and soulful sound. Ledisi, has released a number albums since the mid 1990s. She formed LeSun Records in 1995, receiving many awards & Grammy Award nominations nine times since 2008. - IMDb Mini Biography By:  JS Pescetarian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Jane Blige  ( born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, model, record producer, and actress. Starting her career as a  background singer  on  Uptown Records  in  1989 , Blige released her first album,  What's the 411? , in  1992 , and has released 11 studio albums since and made over 150 guest appearances on other albums and soundtracks. A recipient of nine  Grammy Awards , in addition to receiving a record of thirty Grammy nominations, eight of Blige's albums have reached  multi-platinum  status in the United States.  My Life , in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to  Rolling Stone ,  Time , and  Vibe . For her part in combining hip-hop and  soul  in the early-1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the Legends Award at the  World Music Awards . Blige also received the Voice of Music Award from music publishing company  ASCAP , with its official Jea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr.  (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Throughout his career, Vandross was an in demand background vocalist for several different artists including  Chaka Khan ,  Bette Midler ,  Diana Ross ,  David Bowie ,  Barbra Streisand ,  Ben E. King , and  Donna Summer . He later became the lead singer of the group  Change , which released its certified gold debut album,  The Glow of Love , in 1980 on  Warner Bros. Records . After Vandross left the group, he was signed to  Epic Records  as a solo artist and released his debut solo album,  Never Too Much , in 1981. His hit songs include, " Never Too Much ", " Here and Now ", " Any Love ", " Power of Love/Love Power ", " I Can Make It Better " and " For You to Love ". Many of his songs were covers of original music by other artists such as " If This World Were Mi

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Josephine Baker  (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an  American -born  French  dancer, singer, and actress who came to be known in various circles as the "Black Pearl," "Bronze Venus" and even the "Creole Goddess". Born  Freda Josephine McDonald  in  St. Louis ,  Missouri , Josephine later became a citizen of  France  in 1937. She was fluent in both English and French. Baker was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture,  Zouzou  (1934) or to become a world-famous entertainer. Baker, who refused to perform for segregated audiences in America, is also noted for her contributions to the  Civil Rights Movement . She was once offered unofficial leadership in the movement in the United States by  Coretta Scott King  in 1968, following  Martin Luther King, Jr. 's assassination. Baker, however, turned down the offer. She was also known for assisting the French Resistance  during  World War II , an

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jackie "Moms" Mabley  (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), born  Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup  comedian . A veteran of the  Chitlin' circuit  of African-American vaudeville, she later appeared on the  Ed Sullivan Show  and the  The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour .

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards  (born May 24, 1944), better known under the stage name  Patti LaBelle , is an  American  singer, author, and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry. LaBelle spent 16 years as lead singer of  Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles , who changed their name to Labelle in the early 1970s and released the iconic  disco  song " Lady Marmalade ". Labelle is also noted for being the first African-American group to play at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera House and the first African American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Her solo career began shortly after the group disbanded in 1977 with the release of her self-titled and critically acclaimed debut album. In 1984 she achieved her first #1 R&B hit with  If Only You Knew , while later in the year, she crossed over to pop music with singles such as " New Attitude " and " Stir It Up ", both beco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stevland Hardaway Morris  (born May 13, 1950, as  Stevland Hardaway Judkins ), known by his stage name  Stevie Wonder , is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A  child prodigy , he has become one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century.Wonder signed with  Motown 's Tamla label at the age of 11 and continues to perform and record for Motown as of the early 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth. Among Wonder's works are singles such as " Superstition ", " Sir Duke ", " You Are the Sunshine of My Life " and " I Just Called to Say I Love You "; and albums such as  Talking Book ,  Innervisions  and  Songs in the Key of Life . He has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25  Grammy Awards , the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, and has sold over 100 million albums and singles, maki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Oprah Gail Winfrey  (born January 29, 1954) is an American  media proprietor ,  talk show host , actress, producer, and  philanthropist . Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show  The Oprah Winfrey Show , which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011.Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and is currently North America's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. In 2013, she was awarded the  Presidential Medal of Freedom  by President  Barack Obama  and an honorary doctorate degree from  Harvard . Winfrey was born into poverty in rural  Mississippi  to a teenage single mother and later raised in an inner-city  Milwaukee  neighborhood. She experienced considerable har

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chaka Khan  (born  Yvette Marie Stevens ; March 23, 1953) is an American  singer-songwriter  whose career has spanned four decades, beginning in the 1970s as the  frontwoman  and focal point of the  funk  band  Rufus . Often dubbed the "Queen of Funk", Khan has won ten Grammys and has sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Aaliyah Dana Haughton  ((January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and model. She was born in  Brooklyn , New York, and raised in  Detroit , Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search  and performed in concert alongside  Gladys Knight . At age 12, Aaliyah signed with  Jive Records  and her uncle  Barry Hankerson 's  Blackground Records . Hankerson introduced her to  R. Kelly , who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album,  Age Ain't Nothing but a Number . The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the  Recording Industry Association of America  (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with  R. Kelly , Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with  Atlantic Records . Aaliyah worked with record producers  Timbaland  and  Missy Elliott  for her second album,  On

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen  (January 7, 1911 – December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared as Prissy,  Scarlett O'Hara's  maid in the 1939 film  Gone with the Wind . She continued as an actress in film in the 1940s, then moving to television acting in the 1950s. During World War II, she frequently appeared on the Armed Forces Broadcast "Jubilee," as a comedienne. Many of these broadcasts are available on the Internet Archive.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Halle Maria Berry  (born  Maria Halle Berry ; August 14, 1966)   is an American  actress  and former  fashion model . She won an  Academy Award for Best Actress  in 2002 for her performance in the romantic drama  Monster's Ball  (2001), becoming the first and, as of 2014, the only  woman of color  to win an Oscar for a leading role.  She was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood during the 2000s and has been involved in the production of several of the films in which she performed. Berry is also a  Revlon  spokesmodel. Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the  Miss USA  Pageant and coming in 6th place in the  Miss World  Pageant in 1986.Her breakthrough film role was in the romantic comedy  Boomerang  (1992), alongside  Eddie Murphy , which led to roles in films such as the comedy  The Flintstones  (1994), the political comedy-drama Bulworth  (1998) and the televisi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diahann Carroll  ( born July 17, 1935) is an  American   television  and stage  actress  and  singer . She has had a long, successful career that has spanned nearly six decades. After appearing in some of the earliest  major studio  films to feature black casts such as  Carmen Jones  (1954) and  Porgy and Bess  (1959) and on  Broadway , she starred in  Julia  (1968), one of the first series on  American television  to star a black woman in a non-stereotypical role. Later she played the role of  Dominique Deveraux  on the popular  primetime   soap opera ,  Dynasty . She is the recipient of numerous stage and screen awards and nominations. Carroll has been married four times and became the mother of a daughter in 1960. She is a  breast cancer  survivor and activist. Carroll was scheduled to return to the Broadway stage in the 2014 revival of  A Raisin in the Sun  as Mama, but withdrew prior to opening citing the demands of the rehearsal and pe