Patti LaBelle Biography

Fast Facts

• 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