Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most o ...

in the original seven-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning Broadway run of the musical ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' from 1974 to 1979. The song "

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

" from the show later became a Number 1 U.S. R&B hit and her signature song. During the 1980s, she had five Number 1 R&B hits, including "

", " I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", " I Feel Good All Over", " (You're Puttin') A Rush on Me" and " Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)". She won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her song " Never Knew Love Like This Before" in 1981. Her albums '' What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin'', '' Sweet Sensation'' and ''

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, wreath, garland". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Pol ...

'' went gold or platinum, all through

20th Century Fox Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distin ...

Early life

Stephanie Mills was born to Joseph and Christine Mills and raised in

Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Bedford–Stuyvesant ( ), colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, is a neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Bedford–Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg), Classon ...

. Mills was raised

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and sang gospel music as a child at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church.

Career

Mills began her professional career at age nine, appearing in the Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Maggie Flynn''. After winning Amateur Night at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

six weeks straight at age eleven, Mills went on to become the opening act for the Isley Brothers. In 1973, Mills was signed to

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

by Michael Barbiero, and her first single "I Knew It Was Love" was released. Mills was later signed to

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

after being suggested by Suzanne de Passe. Her first two albums there failed to produce a hit, and Mills left the label in 1976. Mills's career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in the seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical ''

'', an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

adaptation of '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. The song "Home" was first performed by Mills in the stage production and would be covered later by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

for the movie adaptation three years later. Mills’s commercial success in the music industry remained elusive until 1979, when she signed to the

label. There, Mills found her niche in mainly disco music, recording songs such as " Put Your Body In It", "You Can Get Over", and " What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin'". The resulting album, '' What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin''', being Mills's first gold record. She quickly followed the success with 1980's ''Sweet Sensation'', which featured Mills's hit " Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980, as well as reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart. 1981's ''

'' featured a top hit for her and

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

entitled "Two Hearts". Her 1983 album, ''Merciless'', featured her hit cover of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's " How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the #3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her third UK hit with " The Medicine Song" (#29), which also reached #1 on the U.S. dance chart and #8 on the R&B chart. On May 24, 1984, Mills returned to theater to star in a short-lived touring revival of ''

''. In 1985, Mills's recording of "Bit by Bit (Theme from '' Fletch'')" was featured in the

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

film, '' Fletch'', and reached #52 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, #78 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the Dance Chart. Success for Mills had peaked until 1986, when her version of the Angela Winbush-penned " I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. She truly returned with her next release, ''If I Were Your Woman'' in 1987 under

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

in 1971, a three-week #1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over", and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me", to name a few of the songs released. The album reached

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

status. That same year, she appeared in the NBC TV special, ''Motown: Merry Christmas'' along with other musical artists and actors, performing the song, "Christmas Everyday", which was written by actor/comedian

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...

. Mills's success continued with 1989's ''Home'' album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man", the title track, a cover of her old standard from ''The Wiz'' and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel", which became another platinum record for Mills. Mills would record one more album (1992's ''Something Real'') and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. In 1993, she once again starred in the role of Dorothy in ''The Wiz''. This revival was also short lived, closing after 28 performances. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1994 on GospoCentric Records entitled ''Personal Inspirations''. The set was produced by Donald Lawrence and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love". Thereafter, Mills took a break from recording to care for her son. In 1997, Mills played the lead in a major production of

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

's '' Children of Eden'' in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. She made an appearance in the 2007 gospel TV series ''Sunday Best'' and was featured in a live interview on ''The Yolanda Adams Morning Show'', where she mentioned that she has her own record label (JM Records). In 2008, she began a comeback with singles recorded with BeBe Winans and rapper DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing ''Born For This'' (released on Expansion Records in the UK) on August 3, 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go", was released. A 2-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled ''Gold'' was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year Towards the end of 2012, Mills released a new single "So In Love This Christmas", available for download. In 2015, Mills was cast as Aunt Em in the NBC live musical production of ''The Wiz'', forty years after her initial Broadway run in the show. Mills gained media attention in 2018 with her response to singer Sam Smith, who remarked in a video posted to

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that they did not like

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, but the Jackson hit "

Human Nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

" was a "decent song". Mills' fiery response quickly gained traction as she criticized Smith in her own Instagram responses, both accusing Smith of cultural appropriation and referring to him as a "one hit wonder". In 2021, Mills participated in a Verzuz battle with singer

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

, at which both singers performed hits from their discography. In 2024, Mills returned to Broadway after forty years as Missus Hermes in the musical ''

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial vers ...

''.

Personal life

Mills has been married three times: *

Jeffrey Daniel Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer, and a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a judge on the first three seasons of '' Nigerian ...

: (1980–1983), Jeffrey Daniel was from the R&B/soul group Shalamar. * Dino Meminger: (1989–1991). * Michael Saunders: (1993–2001), Minister

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a Black nationalism, black nationalist organization. Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million M ...

officiated the wedding ceremony. Mills has a son, Farad Mills, who was born with Down syndrome. She also once had a brief relationship with fellow singer

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Movin' in the Right Direction'' (1974) * '' For the First Time'' (1975) * '' Love Has Lifted Me'' (1976) * '' What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin''' (1979) * '' Sweet Sensation'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Tantalizingly Hot'' (1982) * '' Merciless'' (1983) * '' I've Got the Cure'' (1984) * ''

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

'' (1985) * '' If I Were Your Woman'' (1987) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Something Real'' (1992) * '' Personal Inspirations'' (1994) * '' Born for This!'' (2004)

Stage work

*'' Maggie Flynn'' (1968) *''

'' (1974–79; 1984; 1993) *''Harlem Suite'' (1988) *''Stephanie Mills Comes Home to Broadway'' (1989) *'' Children of Eden'' (1997) *'' Purlie'' (1998) * ''Ragtime'' (1999) *'' Funny Girl'' (2002) ( Actors Fund benefit concert) *''

'' (2024)

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Stephanie Mills
at Wenig-LaMonica Associates * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Stephanie 1957 births 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century Baptists 21st-century Baptists African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters African-American Christians American child singers American dance musicians American Protestants American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers Baptists from the United States Grammy Award winners Living people Motown artists Musicians from Queens, New York Singers from Brooklyn People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Erasmus Hall High School alumni MCA Records artists GospoCentric artists Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Casablanca Records artists American gospel singers American ballad musicians 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers