Billie Holiday Biography

Fast Facts

• Changed her first name to Billie in tribute to movie star Billie Dove; Holiday was her father's surname
• Was discovered at a Harlem jazz club at the age of 18
• Made her movie debut as an extra in 1933's The Emperor Jones
• Was nicknamed "Lady Day" by saxophonist Lester Young
• In 1938, became one of the first black singers to work with an all-white band
• Member of the 1979 induction class into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
• A bronze statue of her was erected in 1985 in her hometown of Baltimore, MD
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000
• Honored in 2005 with a Grammy Hall of Fame award