Patti LaBelle

LaBelle married longtime friend and schoolteacher Armstead Edwards on July 23, 1969. Edwards subsequently became her personal manager, handling her solo business affairs until 2000, when the couple separated. Their divorce was finalized in 2003. Together, they have one biological child, son Zuri Kye Edwards, born on July 17, 1973, who later took over as his mother's manager. Following Zuri's birth, LaBelle suffered from postpartum depression for a year and received caregiving assistance from friend and fellow musician Laura Nyro. LaBelle and Edwards also adopted two sons, Dodd Stocker-Edwards and Stanley Stocker-Edwards.

LaBelle experienced significant personal grief as all three of her sisters died of cancer at early ages. Her eldest sister, Vivian Hogan Rogers, died of lung cancer in 1975 at age 43; her sister Barbara Holte Purifoy died of colon cancer complications in 1982 at age 40; and her youngest sister, Jacqueline "Jackie" Holte-Padgett, died of brain cancer in 1989 at age 43. Following Padgett's death, LaBelle adopted her sister's two children, William and Stayce Holte. The singer dedicated her 1991 album Burnin' and her live performances of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to Padgett's memory. Both of her parents also passed away; her mother, Bertha, died of diabetes complications in 1978, and her father, Henry Holte Jr., died in 1989 from complications of emphysema and Alzheimer's disease.

Having witnessed so many close family members pass away before turning 50, LaBelle publicly acknowledged fearing she would not reach that age. After celebrating her 50th birthday, she was diagnosed with diabetes, prompting her to adopt healthier lifestyle practices and serve as an active spokesperson for diabetes awareness. She maintains a home in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, alongside residences in Los Angeles and the Bahamas.

LaBelle grew up singing in the church choir at Beulah Baptist Church in Philadelphia. At age 16, after winning a high school talent show, she co-founded a singing group called the Ordettes. In 1962, the lineup solidified to include Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash, and Nona Hendryx. Local record executive Harold Robinson signed the group, renamed them the Blue Belles, and gave Patricia Holte the stage surname "LaBelle" (French for "the beautiful"). Performing as Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles, the quartet scored early hits with "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and "Danny Boy".

Birdsong departed the group in 1967 to join Diana Ross and the Supremes, reducing the act to a trio. In 1970, British television producer Vicki Wickham took over managerial duties, reshaping the group's musical direction toward progressive soul, funk, and glam rock. Shortening their name to Labelle, the group adopted elaborate silver space-suit costumes designed by Larry LeGaspi and opened for rock acts including The Who.

Labelle achieved major commercial success in 1974 with the Allen Toussaint-produced album Nightbirds. The album yielded the disco-funk anthem "Lady Marmalade", which soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. That October, Labelle made history as the first contemporary rock and roll vocal group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House, and the trio soon became the first Black vocal group featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Internal creative differences and exhaustion culminated during a Baltimore concert in December 1976, leading the trio to disband.

LaBelle launched her solo career in 1977 with a self-titled debut album on Epic Records featuring the ballad "You Are My Friend". In 1982, her vocal collaboration with saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. on "The Best Is Yet to Come" earned her a first Grammy Award nomination. She achieved major solo R&B stardom with her 1983 album I'm in Love Again, which produced her first solo R&B chart-topper, "If Only You Knew".

Mainstream pop crossover success followed in late 1984 when LaBelle contributed the tracks "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up" to the soundtrack for the hit film Beverly Hills Cop. Propelled by high-energy MTV rotation and explosive live showcases, including performances at Motown Returns to the Apollo and Live Aid in 1985, LaBelle reached peak solo popularity. In 1986, she released the multi-platinum album Winner in You, anchored by "On My Own", a duet with Michael McDonald that topped the Billboard Hot 100 and adult contemporary charts.

Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, LaBelle maintained consistent commercial traction. In 1991, she released Burnin', which yielded several R&B hits and won her the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in a rare tie with Lisa Fischer. She captured a second Grammy Award in 1999 for the live recording Live! One Night Only. Over the course of her career, she received lifetime achievement honors from the BET Awards, Essence Awards, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Beyond recorded music, LaBelle built an extensive career across theater, film, and television. Her dramatic screen debut came in the 1984 Oscar-nominated drama A Soldier's Story, in which she played the singer Big Mary. On Broadway, she performed in the gospel musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God in 1982, stepped into the role of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti in the Afrobeat musical Fela! in 2010, and starred as a special guest in After Midnight in 2014.

On television, LaBelle had memorable recurring roles, portraying Adele Wayne on A Different World and later heading her own 1992 NBC sitcom, Out All Night. She portrayed Dora Brown in American Horror Story: Freak Show in 2014, and made guest and recurring appearances on Greenleaf, Star, The Neighborhood, and The Wonder Years. She also participated as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2015 and The Masked Singer in 2019.

LaBelle also established an expansive lifestyle and culinary brand. She authored several bestselling cookbooks and memoirs, beginning with Don't Block the Blessings in 1996 and LaBelle Cuisine in 1999. In 2015, her retail food line gained massive national attention when an enthusiastic viral video review of her Walmart-distributed sweet potato pies caused the product to sell out nationwide at a rate of up to one pie per second.