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Photo of Della Reese

Photo: Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/ / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Della Reese

デラ・リース / でら・りーす

American jazz musician

July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017 ・ Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Michigan
  • jazz musician
  • singer
  • film actor

My Take

What strikes me most about Della Reese is the sheer range of her life. She climbed the pop charts in 1959 with "Don't You Know?", then reinvented herself as an actress so convincingly that she collected NAACP Image Awards seven years running. And she was an ordained minister on top of it all. To me, that arc, from Detroit's Cass Tech to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, reads less like a career and more like a calling. Whether singing gospel or starring on television, she always seemed to be doing the same essential work: lifting people up. I find that kind of coherence across decades genuinely rare and genuinely moving.

Overview

Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singles made the US Hot 100, including the number two charting song, "Don't You Know?" (1959).

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English)
Della Reese
Name (Japanese)
デラ・リース
Reading
でら・りーす
Born
July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
Cancer / Goat
Origin
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Blood type
Private
Height
Private
Agency
Private
Occupation
jazz musician / singer / film actor / television actor / stage actor

2. Background

Elementary school
Private
Junior high
Private
High school
Cass Technical High School
University
Wayne State University

Awards & achievements

  • 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 1997 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 1998 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 1999 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 2000 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • 2002 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

3. Relationships

Spouse
Private
Children
Private
Parents
Private
Siblings
Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

Jazz musician — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • Michigan
  • jazz musician
  • singer
  • film actor
Last updated
2026-06-10

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.