For the TV series character, see Stephanie Mills (All in the Family)

Stephanie Mills (All in the Family)

Stephanie Mills was a character on the 1970s American television situation comedy All in the Family and the follow-up series, Archie Bunker's Place....

.

Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 and soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer, and a former Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 star.

Career

Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...

 a record six times. The victory led to her being cast in her first Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 role, the orphaned child of a runaway slave in the musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Maggie Flynn

Maggie Flynn

Maggie Flynn is a musical with a book by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and music and lyrics by Peretti, Creatore, and Weiss....

.

In 1973, Mills' musical recording career was launched when she was signed to Paramount records by Michael Barbiero

Michael Barbiero

Michael Francis Barbiero , is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, songwriter, and journalist.-Background:Michael Barbiero has worked with a number of artists, such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tesla, Cinderella, Blues Traveler, Ziggy Marley, Belouis Some, Cutting Crew, Counting Crows,...

, and her first single "I Knew It Was Love" was released. She was later signed to Motown. Her first two albums there failed to generate a buzz as the label could not find Mills' sound and she left the label in 1976.

Mills' career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

entitled The Wiz

The Wiz

The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...

, where she began dating Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

. Filled with a more urban style of music and scenery, The Wiz made Mills a star particularly because of her stellar performance of the song "Home." It would become her signature tune for years, and would be covered later by Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

 for the big-screen adaptation three years later and by Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

 for her dramatic musical performance debut on TV in the early 1980s.

Musical success was elusive until 1979, when signed under the 20th Century Fox Records record label, Mills found her breakthrough in disco music, recording songs such as "Put Your Body In It," "You Can Get Over," and "What Cha' Gonna Do With My Lovin'

What Cha' Gonna Do With My Lovin (song)

"What Cha' Gonna Do With My Lovin" is a 1979 single by Stephanie Mills from the album of the same name. It became a hit, reaching No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100....

." The resulting album, What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'

What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'

What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' is the third album by Stephanie Mills. Released in 1979 and Produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas.-Track listing:All songs written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas except where indicated....

, was Mills' first gold record.

She quickly followed the success with 1980's Sweet Sensation, which featured Mills' biggest hit to date, the Reggie Lucas

Reggie Lucas

Reginald "Reggie" Lucas is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Lucas is most famous for his production work with percussionist Mtume and for producing the majority of Madonna's 1983 self-titled debut album.-Biography:...

-produced "Never Knew Love Like This Before

Never Knew Love Like This Before

"Never Knew Love Like This Before" is a song by American R&B singer Stephanie Mills. The song is the second and final single from Mills' 1980 album, Sweet Sensation. The single was released in August 1979 and became a huge hit in 1980....

". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980, as well as reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. 1981's Stephanie featured a top hit for her and Teddy Pendergrass

Teddy Pendergrass

Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...

 entitled "Two Hearts," while her 1983 album, Merciless, featured her hit cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the #3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her third UK hit with "The Medicine Song

The Medicine Song

The Medicine Song is a 1984 dance single by Stephanie Mills. "The Medicine Song" gave Stephanie Mills her first number one dance single; her previous entry on the chart had been "Pilot Error", which had made it to number three. "The Medicine Song" stayed at the top spot on the dance chart for one...

" (#29), which also reached #1 on the U.S. dance chart.

Success for Mills had peaked until 1985, when her version of the Angela Winbush

Angela Winbush

Angela Winbush is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo René & Angela, also scoring hits as a solo artist.-Early life and career:...

-penned "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love

I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love

"I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" is a song by R&B singer, Stephanie Mills, and is the second single from the singer's 1985 self-titled album. The song was written by Angela Winbush and René Moore, of the singing duo Rene & Angela....

," hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. Mills truly returned, however, with her next release, If I Were Your Woman in 1987 under MCA Records

Music Corporation of America

MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...

, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips

Gladys Knight & the Pips

Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

 in 1971; a three-week #1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over" (a song her label mate Patti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle

Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...

 did not wish to cover); and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me," to name a few of the songs released. The album reached platinum

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 status. That same year, she appeared in the NBC TV special, Motown: Merry Christmas along with other musical artists and actors, performing the song, "Christmas Everyday", which was written by actor/comedian Redd Foxx

Redd Foxx

John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...

.

Mills' success continued with 1989's Home album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man," the title track, a cover of her old standard from The Wiz and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel." It became another platinum record for Mills.

Mills would record one more album (1992's Something Real) and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1995 on GospoCentric Records

GospoCentric Records

GospoCentric Records is an Inglewood, California based Gospel music record label started as an independent label by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Claude Lataillade in 1993. The label rose to prominence in the 90's largely on the runaway success of gospel artist Kirk Franklin. The label has grown to...

 entitled Personal Inspirations. The set was produced by Donald Lawrence

Donald Lawrence

Donald Lawrence is an American gospel music songwriter, record producer and artist.-Early years:Donald Lawrence was born on May 4, 1961. He studied at Cincinnati Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music. While in Cincinnati, he was also the Minister of Music at the...

 and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love." Thereafter, Stephanie took a break from recording to care for her son.

Mills returned to musical theater in 1997, playing the lead in a major production of Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

's Children of Eden

Children of Eden

Children of Eden is a two-act musical play with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis. Act I tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel, and Act II deals with Noah and the Flood...

in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. Mills was heavily featured in the soundtrack CD that resulted from this production.

In 2000, Mills began a comeback with singles recorded with BeBe Winans

BeBe Winans

Benjamin "BeBe" Winans is a gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists.-The PTL Club:...

 and rapper DMX

DMX (rapper)

Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...

 to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing Born For This (released on Expansion Records

Expansion Records

Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989 DJ, Author & Journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, which both he and Searling run to this day.-Label history:...

 in the UK) on 3 August 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go," garnered buzz at urban contemporary radio. Mills is currently touring. A 2-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled Gold was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year. Mills just finished production of a live DVD recorded at BB Kings in New York which will be sold online and at her shows.

Mills made an appearance in the 2007 gospel TV series Sunday Best and was recently featured in a live interview on The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, where she mentioned that she now has her own record label (JM Records).

Mills performed prior to Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...

 in New York on April 20, 2008.

In a recent interview Mills stated that she would be releasing her Live CD during the end of this year and that Live CD will include two new tracks.

Her new album entitled "Breathless" is set to be released soon. Her New Single "Yesterday" is available for download on iTunes.

Personal life

Stephanie is the fifth of six children. She was born and raised predominantly in Brooklyn, New York. Mills claims that she was romantically involved with Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 for a short period of time while she was doing The Wiz.

In 1992, Ebony

Ebony (magazine)

Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...

magazine reported that Mills had been married in the 1970s for a brief period, to Jeffrey Daniel

Jeffrey Daniel

Jeffrey Daniel is an American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, most notable for being a member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria he is best known as an Idol series judge...

 from the soul group Shalamar

Shalamar

Shalamar was an American music group, primarily of the 1970s and 1980s, that was originally a disco-driven vehicle created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and show creator Don Cornelius. They went on to be an influential dance trio, masterminded by Soul Train producer Don Cornelius...

 and again in the mid 1980s to Dino Meminger but that both marriages had ended in less than two years. "I also wanted to know why my relationships never made it to two years. I knew it was me," says Mills. "You can't blame it on another person. That's where a lot of women go wrong... carrying over from a bad relationship to a new relationship."

Mills married a third time to Charlotte, North Carolina radio program manager Michael Saunders in 1993 in a wedding ceremony performed by Minister Louis Farrakhan

Louis Farrakhan

Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...

. The couple divorced sometime later.

In an interview with Soul Music in 2002, Mills said that she had a son, Farad. Mills would not comment on the identity of Farad’s father, other than to say that she is not married, and that her ex-husband Michael Saunders is not Farad's father. Mills added that giving birth “was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was amazingly wonderful and I wish I had started earlier. I might have had two or three before but I had some problems before in being able to have children. But things work out when they’re supposed to... now I’m a single working parent and loving it!"

In an interview with Windy City Times in 2010, Mills said that she presently makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 and that her son, Farad has Down's Syndrome

Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...

. "The Shriners are celebrating their 88th anniversary, and they have 22 hospitals nationwide," says Mills. "And what I love is even my son — I have a child with Down's syndrome — can get access to the best spinal-cord doctors in the country."

Discography

• Movin' in the Right Direction
  Movin' in the Right Direction
  Movin' in the Right Direction is the debut album by Stephanie Mills released in 1974 on the ABC Records label.-Track listing:#"Movin' in the Right Direction" - 2:50 #"Of All the Things" - 3:35 #"I'll Never Love Nobody Else but You" - 2:42...
  
  – 1974
• For the First Time
  For the First Time (Stephanie Mills album)
  For the First Time is the second album by Stephanie Mills. Released in 1975 on the Motown label. Produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David...
  
  – 1975
• What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'
  What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'
  What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' is the third album by Stephanie Mills. Released in 1979 and Produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas.-Track listing:All songs written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas except where indicated....
  
  – 1979
• Sweet Sensation
  Sweet Sensation (album)
  Sweet Sensation is the fourth album by Stephanie Mills. Released in 1980, Produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas.-Track listing:All tracks composed by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas; except where indicated#"Sweet Sensation" - 4:30...
  
  – 1980
• Stephanie
  Stephanie (album)
  Stephanie is the fifth album by Stephanie Mills. It was released in 1981 and produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. The album features the song "Two Hearts" by Teddy Pendergrass.-Track listing:...
  
  – 1981
• Tantalizingly Hot – 1982
• Merciless – 1983
• I've Got the Cure – 1984
• Stephanie Mills – 1985
• If I Were Your Woman
  If I Were Your Woman (Stephanie Mills album)
  If I Were Your Woman is an album by Stephanie Mills. Singles included "I Feel Good All Over, " A Rush on Me", "Secret Lady", and the title track .-Track listing:...
  
  – 1987
• Home – 1989
• Christmas – 1991
• Something Real – 1992
• Personal Inspirations – 1995
• Born for This! – 2004
• Breathless – 2010

Awards

• 1974 – nominated for Drama Desk Award
  Drama Desk Award
  The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
  
   for Outstanding Actress - Musical ("The Wiz").
• 1979 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues.
• 1980 – won Grammy Award
  Grammy Award
  A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
  
  : Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Never Knew Love Like This Before").
• 1980 – nominated for an American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1980 – nominated for Young Artist Awards: Best Young Musical Recording Artist - Female ("Two Hearts").
• 1981 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female (Stephanie).
• 1981 – won American Music Award for Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1983 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female ("Merciless").
• 1989 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

• Stephanie Mills official website
• Stephanie Mills at Wenig-LaMonica Associates