Miriamm Wright is an American singer and songwriter.

Early life

She was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. She moved to the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area at age of five years old. Wright performed in various singing and talent competitions as a child. At age 10, Wright lost her mother to breast cancer. She entered talent shows during high school and discovered her love of old school music. She went on to write, produce and star in a play called ''Sound the Alarm,'' which was created for the purpose of dispelling myths surrounding breast cancer.

Career

2002–2005: Peaches and Herb

Wright performed as the fifth "Peaches". She joined in 2002 and began touring with Herb. She was introduced to the world as the new "Peaches" when she joined Herb in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

televised "Rhythm, Love & Soul" Fundraising drive. She then appeared in several pledge drives for

. They shared the stage with greats such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

and

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

. Their on-stage chemistry was so well received, it sparked another invitation to the duo for the follow-up installment featuring R&B greats such as

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer and actress who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and for recording the film's title song " Fame", which reach ...

, Heatwave and

Anita Ward Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/Disco hi ...

. Both performances air periodically.

2007: Kennedy Center

Wright headlined a concert at

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

for the Performing Arts in performance in "A Concert of Love: Conquering, Claiming, and Celebrating Your Victory," honoring breast cancer survivors.

2008–2010: Tours

Wright opened for acts such as

India.Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence with her debut album, ''Acoustic Soul (2001),'' which was a commercial and critical success. She has since released the albums ''Voyage to In ...

, Jill Scott and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

. Her debut video, "Road of Peace" aired on BET JAZZ and

BET Gospel Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable television channel, channel targeting African Americans, Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entert ...

2014 – Present : Bethesda Blues

In 2014, Wright began performing at a benefit concert called "Miriamm turns Bethesda Blues & Jazz Pink" in honor of

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...

with the annual EPW Awards! EPW Awards honors breast cancer survivors, their caregivers, doctors, and members of the community who are working in the fight against breast cancer.

Discography

* 2004: ''Miriamm! Live at Blues Alley'' * 2008: ''Road of Peace'' * 2010: ''My Favorite Things''

Filmography

Wright portrayed the late

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...

in the stage play ''Sing Mahalia Sing'' and appeared in ''

Cadillac Records ''Cadillac Records'' is a 2008 American biographical drama film written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-compa ...

'' (Sony Music Films), portraying a background singer for

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

(

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

Philanthropy

Wright founded and serves as Chair of the Board for the non-profit organization the Edith P. Wright Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (EPW), raising money to provide support services to families facing breast cancer, as well as to provide education and screening to under-served communities. Wright has headlined at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club and Blues Alley in concerts designed to raise funding and awareness to the disease of breast cancer. Wright wrote a song for Breast Cancer Awareness entitled, "We Must Find A Cure" with proceeds supporting the fight against breast cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Miriamm 1971 births Living people Songwriters from Pennsylvania Musicians from Pittsburgh 21st-century American singers