Patti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle

Active - 1982 - 2020  |   Born - May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States  |   Genres - Music, Drama, Comedy

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Biography by AllMovie

Born Patricia Holt. Black singer/actress, onscreen from the '80s.

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Factsheet

  • As a youngster, she sang solos in the Beulah Baptist Church Choir in southwest Philadelphia.
  • Her music groups have included the Ordettes (1960), the Blue Belles (1961-65), Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles (1965-70) and LaBelle (1970-77).
  • Her fellow singers in the Blue Belles and Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles were Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash and Cindy Birdsong, though Birdsong left in 1967 to join The Supremes.
  • Appeared in Broadway's Your Arm's Too Short to Box With God alongside Al Green in 1982.
  • Made her film debut in 1984's A Soldier's Story.
  • Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993.
  • Won a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
  • Received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
  • Has authored Don't Block the Blessings: Lessons of a Lifetime, Patti's Pearls: Lessons on Living Genuinely, Joyfully, Generously and numerous cookbooks.
  • Has been a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, the National Minority AIDS Council and the National Cancer Institute.
  • Started selling her own line of sauces, marinades and spices in 2007.