Patti LaBelle has been referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".
52 Facts About Patti LaBelle
2.
Patti LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and frontwoman of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles.
3.
Less than two years later, in 1986, Patti LaBelle scored a number-one album Winner in You and its number-one duet single, "On My Own", with Michael McDonald.
4.
Patti LaBelle reunited with her Labelle bandmates for the album Back to Now, followed by a well-received promotional tour.
5.
Patti LaBelle has experienced success as an actress with a role in the Oscar-nominated film A Soldier's Story, and in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show.
6.
In 1992, Patti LaBelle starred in her own TV sitcom Out All Night.
7.
In 2015, Patti LaBelle took part in the dance competition Dancing with the Stars at the age of 70.
8.
Patti LaBelle was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers.
9.
Patti LaBelle is a dramatic soprano recognized for her vocal power, range and emotive delivery.
10.
Patti LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte in the Eastwick section of Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
11.
Patti LaBelle was born the second youngest child of Henry and Bertha Holte's three children, and the next-to-youngest of five children overall.
12.
Patti LaBelle's father was a railroad worker and club performer and her mother was a domestic.
13.
Patti LaBelle joined a local church choir at the Beulah Baptist Church at ten and performed her first solo two years later.
14.
When she was sixteen, Patti LaBelle won a talent competition at her high school, John Bartram High School.
15.
Robinson agreed to work with the group after hearing Patti LaBelle sing the song "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman".
16.
Robinson gave Holte the name "Patti LaBelle", which meant "the beautiful" in French.
17.
In 1984, Patti LaBelle recorded the songs "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up" for the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film, Beverly Hills Cop.
18.
In 1985, Patti LaBelle performed on the TV special, Motown Returns to Apollo and as part of the all-star benefit concert, Live Aid.
19.
Patti LaBelle shared a stage with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick for the 1986 HBO special Sisters in the Name of Love.
20.
Later that same year Patti LaBelle began a successful stint in a recurring role on A Different World, the success of which spawned a brief sitcom of her own, titled Out All Night, which only lasted a season.
21.
On January 29,1995, Patti LaBelle performed at the Super Bowl XXIX halftime show, held at the Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida with Tony Bennett, Arturo Sandoval and Miami Sound Machine.
22.
Patti LaBelle released the album, Flame, which included the dance hit, "When You Talk About Love".
23.
Patti LaBelle released her bestselling memoirs, Don't Block the Blessings, in 1996, and released the first of five bestselling cookbooks in 1997.
24.
Patti LaBelle was honored with the Triumphant Spirit Award for Career Achievement at the 1998 Essence Awards, featuring tributes from Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, SWV, and Luther Vandross.
25.
In 2000, Patti LaBelle released her final MCA album, When a Woman Loves, before signing with Def Soul Classics to release the 2004 album, Timeless Journey.
26.
Patti LaBelle returned to Def Jam in 2007 and released her second holiday album, Miss Patti's Christmas.
27.
In 2008, Patti LaBelle briefly reunited with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash as Labelle on the group's first new album in more than 30 years, Back to Now.
28.
Patti LaBelle replaced Tony Award-nominee Lillias White as Fela's mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and performed with the production through the end of its run on January 2,2011.
29.
Patti LaBelle was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards on June 26,2011.
30.
On June 10,2014, Patti LaBelle returned to Broadway as the cast and creative team of the Tony Award-nominated smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight, welcomed her as "Special Guest Star".
31.
On February 24,2015, Patti LaBelle was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.
32.
Patti LaBelle has consistently toured the United States selling out shows in various markets.
33.
In 2015 Patti LaBelle made a guest appearance on Fox's television series Empire as herself.
34.
Patti LaBelle appeared as a "key advisor" for Christina Aguilera on the tenth season of the NBC series The Voice.
35.
Patti LaBelle returned to the VH1 Divas stage in 2016, headlining a holiday-themed concert alongside Chaka Khan, Vanessa Williams, and her goddaughter Mariah Carey.
36.
Patti LaBelle continued her acting career with roles alongside Cedric the Entertainer on The Neighborhood and Dule Hill on The Wonder Years.
37.
Patti LaBelle dropped out of Philadelphia's John Bartram High School just a semester before graduating in 1962.
38.
Patti LaBelle returned to the school in her mid-thirties and later earned her diploma.
39.
Around 1964, Patti LaBelle was engaged to Otis Williams, founding member of The Temptations.
40.
The engagement lasted a year before Patti LaBelle broke it off after fearing Williams would force her to move to Detroit and retire from the road.
41.
On July 23,1969, Patti LaBelle married a longtime friend, Armstead Edwards, who was a schoolteacher.
42.
That year, Patti LaBelle announced that she and Edwards had legally separated, with their divorce finalized in 2003.
43.
In July 1989, three months before her father's death, Patti LaBelle lost her youngest sister, Jacqueline "Jackie" Holte-Padgett, to brain cancer at the age of 43.
44.
Patti LaBelle said because of her sisters and parents dying "before their time", she wrote in her autobiography that she feared she would not make it to 50.
45.
Patti LaBelle has a home in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood and has condos in Los Angeles and in Eleuthera, the Bahamas.
46.
Patti LaBelle is an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
47.
In 2010, Patti LaBelle went into a rage that resulted in her verbally and physically attacking a mother and her 18 month old daughter.
48.
Patti LaBelle agreed to a settlement of $100,000 and attempted to get her son's deposition, where he lied that no altercation took place, destroyed following the settlement.
49.
Patti LaBelle has been described as "the greatest gay icon of all time and a prime example of the intersection of the LGBT community and black female artists".
50.
Patti LaBelle is the primary character on the popular web parody Got 2B Real.
51.
Patti LaBelle made some headlines in late 2015 when a vlogger known as James Wright spoke enthusiastically on YouTube of her brand of sweet potato pies.
52.
Patti LaBelle has appeared in two Walmart commercials an Old Spice commercial.