Diana Ross 1980

Influencer Series:

Diana Ross 1980, hand-drawn portrait of Ross from the cover of her most successful album, Diana (1980) age 36.

Diana Ross was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 26, 1944.

Ross is an American singer and actress. She was 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 12 number-one pop singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, including “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and “Love Child.”

Motown owner Berry Gordy placed the future of his company on Ross’s shoulders, thus making her the torchbearer for Motown.
As the first Black pop superstar, Diana Ross literally changed the face of popular music and ushered in soul music as our leading form of popular music.
Only Elvis and the Beatles outsold the Supremes in the 1960s.

She went solo in 1970. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, became Ross’s first number-one solo single.
Her 1980 album “Diana” is the best-selling studio album of Ross’s career, spawning three international hit singles, including the number-one hit “Upside Down”.

“Endless Love”, a 1981 duet with Lionel Richie, made her the female solo act with the most number-one songs in the United States at the time.
Her commercial success continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s with global hits, including “I’m Coming Out,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “All of You,” “Chain Reaction,” “If We Hold on Together,” and “When You Tell Me That You Love Me.”

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 became the first African-American actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance; she also recorded its soundtrack, which became her only solo album to reach number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

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 woman artist to have had U.S. number-one pop 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, a total of 18.

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.

Ross has been married twice and has five children.

#DianaRoss, #TheSupremes, #MusicArt, #PaulKing, #PaulKingArtwerks, PaulKingArt.com