Diana Ross

**Diana Ross** (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of twelve number-one hit singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including *"Where Did Our Love Go"*, *"Baby Love"*, *"Come See About Me"*, and *"Love Child"*.

Following departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross embarked on a successful solo career in music, film, television and on stage. Her eponymous debut solo album featured the U.S. number-one hit *"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"*and music anthem *"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)"*. It was followed with her second solo album, *Everything Is Everything* (1970), which spawned her first UK number-one single "I'm Still Waiting". She continued her successful solo career by mounting elaborate record-setting world-wide concert tours, starring in a number of highly watched prime-time television specials, and releasing hit albums like *Touch Me in the Morning* (1973), *Mahogany* (1975), and *Diana Ross* (1976) as well as their number-one hit singles, *"Touch Me in the Morning"*, *"Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)"*, and *"Love Hangover"*, respectively. Ross further released numerous top-ten hits on various Billboard charts throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. She achieved several more global number-one singles, *"Upside Down"* (1980), *"Endless Love"* (1981), *"Why Do Fools Fall in Love"* (1982), *"All of You"* (1984)", Chain Reaction" (1986), "If We Hold on Together" (1988) and "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (1991).

Ross has also achieved mainstream success and recognition as an actor. Her first role was her Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Billie Holiday in the film *Lady Sings the Blues* (1972); she also recorded its soundtrack, which became a number one hit on the U.S. album chart. She also starred in two other feature films, *Mahogany* (1975) and *The Wiz* (1978), and later appeared in the television films Out of Darkness (1994), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and *Double Platinum* (1999).

Ross was named the "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard in 1976. Since her solo career began in 1970, Ross has released 25 studio albums, numerous singles, and compilations that have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. She is the only female artist to have had number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, as the other half of a duet, as a member of a trio, and as an ensemble member. In 2021, Billboard ranked her the 30th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.

Her hits as a Supreme and a solo artist combined put Ross among the Top 5 artists on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart from 1955 to 2018. She had a top 10 UK hit in every one of the last five decades, and sang lead on a top 75 hit single at least once every year from 1964 to 1996 in the UK, a period of 33 consecutive years and a record for any performer. In 1988, Ross was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes, and is one of the rare performers to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

### Relationships and family

Ross has been married twice and has five children.

Diana became romantically involved with Motown CEO Berry Gordy in 1965. The relationship lasted several years, resulting in the birth of Ross's eldest child, Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein, in August 1971. Two months into her pregnancy with Rhonda, in January 1971, Ross married music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein, who raised Rhonda as his own daughter, despite knowing her true paternity. Ross told Rhonda that Gordy was her biological father when Rhonda was 13 years old. Beforehand, Rhonda referred to Gordy as "Uncle B.B."

Ross has two daughters with Silberstein, actress Tracee Ellis Ross (of both the UPN TV series *Girlfriends* and the ABC-TV series *Black-ish* fame) and Chudney Lane Silberstein, born in 1972 and 1975, respectively. Ross and Silberstein divorced in 1977.

Ross met her second husband, Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Næss Jr, in 1985, and married him the following year. She became stepmother to his three elder children; Katinka, Christoffer, and folk singer Leona Naess. They have two sons together: Ross Arne (born in 1987) and Evan Olav (born in 1988). Ross and Næss divorced in 2000, after press reports revealed that Næss had fathered a child with another woman in Norway. Ross considers Næss the love of her life. Næss fell to his death in a South African mountain climbing accident in 2004. Ross remains close with her three ex-stepchildren.

## References

1. ↑  (2018) "Diana Ross: Godmother and Muse", *Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track*. Octopus Books. ISBN 9781788401234.
2. ↑ Diana Ross to play The Joint in April. *Tulsaworld.com*. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved on August 10, 2021.
3. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
4. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
5. ↑ LISTEN: 15 songs showcasing Diana Ross as she celebrates her 70th. Globalnews.ca (March 26, 2014). Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved on July 15, 2015.
6. ↑ Windeler, Robert (January 26, 1976). Mr. & Mrs. Diana Ross?. *People*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved on September 1, 2014.
7. ↑ McMurran, Kristin (January 15, 1979). Showbiz Wiz. *People*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
8. ↑ Stewart, Allison (November 16, 2004). A 'suburban mom': Diana Ross at 60. *Chicago Tribune*. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved on September 1, 2014.
9. ↑  "Supreme Icon Diana Ross, Her 5 Children and Show-Stopping Performance" episode, The Oprah Winfrey Show, February 25, 2011, Season 25, episode #93.
10. ↑ "Ross' ex-husband fell to his death", *BBC (BBC.com)*, January 14, 2004.

## External links

* Diana Ross at Babepedia
* Diana Ross links at FreeOnes
* Diana Ross on  Famous Birthdays
* Diana Ross on  Famous Fix
* Diana Ross on  Listal
* Diana Ross article at *Wikipedia*