Suzette Charles (born Suzette DeGaetano) is an American singer, songwriter, performer and

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early life

Suzette DeGaetano “Charles” was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania and is an only child to her American mother who was a school teacher and Italian father who was a salesman.https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2018/09/05/village-view-miss-america-1984-is-temple-made/ She attended The Performing Arts School and as a high school graduate was awarded in 1981 a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. President Ronald Reagan awarded her and 141 others the Presidential medallion. Charles graduated Temple University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts and went on to being named Miss America 1984.

Miss America 1984

As Miss New Jersey, she competed in the Miss America 1984 pageant held in Atlantic City on September 17, 1983. Earlier in the week, she had won a Preliminary Talent Award for her performance of "Kiss Me in the Rain" by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

While she originally placed as first runner-up, after the reigning Miss America Vanessa Williams was forced to resign, Suzette replaced her as the new Miss America.

Career

Charles worked from a young age in singing, modelling and acting on stage and television. She appears on the original soundtrack of film adaptation of the musical '

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'. Charles was cast in the role of Crissy singing the song 'Frank Mills' but was ultimately cut from the film production. She acted on the ABC soap opera '' Loving'', CBS television series '' Frank's Place'' and performed on '' This Morning'', a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

talk show. She hosted a show on Bravo, ''Arts-Break''. She narrated the motion picture ''Beyond The Dream''. She has appeared on stage singing with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, Alan King, Joel Grey, Sammy Davis Jr.,

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. In 1993, Charles was signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and recorded with top British songwriters & producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, releasing her debut single, "Free To Love Again", in August of that year. The single peaked at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart. She recorded five more songs with Stock and Waterman that went unreleased at the time, these included; "After You're Gone", "Don't Stop (All The Love You Can Give)", "Every Time We Touch", "What The Eye Don't See" and "Just For A Minute". Her producers have included Mike Stock, Pete Waterman and David Foster who also signed her on his 143 Records Label. In the late 1980s, Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Management represented her on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

.https://www.chartbeats.com.au/saw

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Suzette 1963 births Living people American people of West Indian descent American people of Italian descent American women singers Singers from New Jersey Miss America 1980s delegates Miss America winners People from Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey Miss America Preliminary Talent winners 21st-century American women Beauty pageant contestants from New Jersey Actors from Atlantic County, New Jersey