Biography for
Natalie Cole (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

6 February 1950, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Natalie Maria Cole

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Growing up and living under the huge, daunting shadow of a singing icon can intimidate a son or daughter enough to want to look anywhere else to find their station in life. Those who dared to try to follow in their footsteps, such as Frank Sinatra Jr., found success branching out in other areas of music; others like the Crosby brothers, suffered from perpetual self esteem issues that led to personal tragedy; still others, like Liza Minnelli found meteoric success on their own and emulated/paralleled their famous parent's own star achievements.

"Sophisticated Lady" Natalie Cole fits into the last-mentioned category. Moreover, she ended up living a dream by dueting with her father, the late and great Nat 'King' Cole, through the use of modern technology, to multiple Grammy-winning glory. This would become the pinnacle of her musical success. Unlike Minnelli, however, her famous crooning parent, who broke many racial barriers during his way-too-short life in the limelight, did not live long enough to enjoy his daughter's rise to stardom, dying of lung cancer a little more than a week after Natalie's 15th birthday.

Stephanie Natalie Maria Cole was born on February 6, 1950, and grew up in a heavily musical atmosphere in Los Angeles' exclusive Hancock Park area. In addition to her father, mother Maria had been a background vocalist with the Duke Ellington outfit. Natalie herself grew up surrounded by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and, Frank Sinatra, who were considered family. Singing on one of her dad's Christmas albums, and performing by age 11, her father's early death brought emotional scars and perhaps induced a self-imposed lack of musical focus. The family relocated to Massachusetts and Natalie eventually took off to college, first attending and majoring in child psychology at the University of Massachusetts. The transferred to the University of Southern California before returning to her first campus and graduating in 1972. At this point, however, she decided to live her music a go again and began performing at various night spots. It was at this juncture that she gradually fell into drug addiction, including heroin use.

A breakthrough for Natalie came via her early 70s association with Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, who once worked with one of Natalie's real-life idols, Aretha Franklin. A debut album in the form of "Inseparable" came out in 1975, which included her bit hit "This Will Be" (#6 on the pop charts and a multiple Grammy winner for best R&B female vocals and "best newcomer". In 1976 producer Yancy became her husband but they divorced after only a few years and following the birth of their only child, Robert Adam Yancy. Her ex-husband died in 1985.

During the "disco era", milder hits with "Sophisticated Lady," "Mr. Melody," "I've Got Love on My Mind," "Our Love," "Stand By," "What You Won't Do for Love," and "Hold On" and "Nothing But a Fool" arrived, along with more platinum and gold albums. Acute drug problems, however, continued to hinder her progress and she eventually took time off time for recovery. In 1985, Natalie released, in what was the start of a comeback, her album "Dangerous" for Modern Records; she later lost her contract. Such as late 80s pop singles included "Jump Start My Heart," "Miss You Like Crazy", "Pink Cadillac" and "I Live for Your Love" kept her visible and on the charts.

In the midst of her ebb-and-flow R&B success, Natalie decided in 1991 to record a new CD, "Unforgettable...with Love," paying homage to her late father. With the help and encouragement of family, she re-arranged and re-recorded some of his greatest songs in the same studio that he recorded (Capitol Studios), used some of the same musicians and even recreated one of his signature songs, the title tune "Unforgettable," with a technological effect that appeared as if they were dueting together. Never before or since has this been pulled off and marketed so successfully. The CD, which met with some derision (some critics felt she was grasping for straws in a career that was going backwards), was an instant "easy listening" sensation. Not only did it sell well over 30 million copies, it would become an eight-time over platinum winner. It earned a armload of awards on Grammy night -- including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year".

Over time Natalie began covering jazz standards. A jazz CD in 1994 also captured a Grammy (she has racked up a total of eight Grammy awards thus far). Like her Dad, she has become a fond Christmas commodity both on TV and in the record stores. In addition, she branched out into occasional acting roles, including the social drama Lily in Winter (1994) (TV) and the autobiographical feature film Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story (2000) (TV) in which she herself played the ups and downs of her own turbulent life. She has also made infrequent acting appearances on such shows as "I'll Fly Away," "Law & Order," "Touched by an Angel" and "Grey's Anatomy".

Natalie's private life, however, continued to show vulnerability. A second marriage to drummer Andre Fisher of Rufus fame also ended in divorce and she later married and divorced a third time to Kenneth Dupree, a bishop. Natalie's older adopted sister, Carol Cole earned a modicum of distinction as an actress and celebrity for a time, but her adopted brother, Nat Kelly Cole, briefly an actor, died in 1995 at age 36 of AIDS-related complications.

Firmly content wrapping her glorious vocals around yesteryear's standards, Natalie's star more and more possesses the warm, fuzzy glow and velvet-like smoothness so reminiscent of her famous dad. Recently, however, she has again had to battle illness -- this time a life-threatening liver virus, Hepatitis C, which laid dormant from her early days of hard drug use. Through it all, Natalie's continues to vocally shine, what with the recent release of the CD "Still Unforgettable, in which she nurses the classics as only she can and "duets" once again with her dad, 'Nat King' Cole' on "Walking My Baby Back Home".

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

Kenneth H. Dupree	(12 October 2001 - 2004) (divorced)
Andre Fischer	(16 September 1989 - 1995) (divorced)
Marvin Yancy	(31 July 1976 - 1980) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Singer.

Daughter of Nat 'King' Cole and Maria Cole.

In 1975 she won a Grammy in the "Best New Artist" category.

Measurements: 36B-26-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Ranked #92 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Sister of Carol Cole (via adoption), Casey Cole, Nat Kelly Cole (via adoption) and Timolin Cole. Carol is her cousin on her mother's side.

Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. - A historically African-American Public Service Sorority, founded at Howard University in Washington, DC in 1913.

Niece of Freddy Cole, Eddie Cole, Evelyn Cole.

Loves butterflies.

Has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C [July 16, 2008].

Her debut album in 1975, Inseparable, resulted in top chart success with the single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (#1 R&B, #6 Pop). Her performance of the song won her a 1976 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. This was a feat because "Queen Of Soul" Aretha Franklin had won this category 8 years standing (1968-1975).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1750 Vine Street.

Born in the same hospital as Liza Minnelli, Micky Dolenz, and Desi Arnaz Jr..

Attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts. Enrolled in the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Briefly transferred to the University of Southern California, where she pledged the Epsilion Theta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Transferred back to the University of Massachusetts, where she majored in Child Psychology and minored in German. Graduated in 1972.

Influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Received a kidney transplant on May 19, 2009, the same day that her sister, Carol Cole, died.