Diana Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. She began singing with friends as a teenager, and eventually formed the groundbreaking 1960s trio the Supremes, which became Motown’s most successful act, and the best charting girl group in US history, as well as one of the best selling girl groups of all time.
Signed to Motown Records by famed producer and label founder Berry Gordy Jr. in 1961, the group had a remarkable 12 No. 1 hits: “Where Did Our Live Go”, “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, “Stop! In the Name of Love”, “Back in My Arms Again”, “I Hear a Symphony”, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “You Keep Me Hanging On”, “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone”, “The Happening”, “Love Child”, “Someday We’ll Be Together”. In doing so, they established a phenomenal record, becoming the American vocal group with the most Billboard chart toppers in history. They also broke music records by having five songs in a row reach No. 1.
Ross left for a solo career in 1969, later reaching No. 1 with hits like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Touch Me in The Morning.” She starred in the films Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues as well, earning an Oscar nomination for the latter. The Mahogany soundtrack included her third number 1 hit, “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)”. Her Lady Sings the Blues album, which was the original soundtrack of her film based on the life of jazz singer Billie Holiday, went to no. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling more than 300,000 copies within its first 8 days of release.
Her 1980 album Diana reached number 2 on the US Billboard albums chart, and spawned the number-one hit ”Upside Down”, and the Top 5 international hit ”I’m Coming Out”. Ross’ final single with Motown during her initial run with the company achieved her sixth and final US number-one Pop hit, the duet ”Endless Love”, composed for the Brooke Shields film of the same name, by and performed with Commodores front man, Lionel Richie. Ross and Richie performed the song on the telecast for the 54th Academy Awards, where the song was nominated in the category of “Best Song”.
Diana Ross was named the “Female Entertainer of the Century” by Billboard magazine. In 1988, Ross was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes. In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records declared her the most successful female music artist in history.
In 2012 Diana Ross received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement; it would become her first Grammy ever, despite having been nominated twelve times. Four years later, Ross received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2017, she added to her collection with Lifetime Achievement honors at the American Music Awards.
