- Born
- Died
- Birth nameFlorence Glenda Ballard
- Nicknames
- Flo
- Blondie
- Height5′ 10¾″ (1.80 m)
- Florence Glenda Wilson Ballard was born and grew up in Detroit. By the time she turned 15, her family moved to the Brewster-Douglas housing project, and Florence attended Northeastern High School, where she met and became friends with Mary Wilson. Ballard had always wanted to be a singer and auditioned for the creation of a sister group of The Primes (later known as The Temptations). When she was approved, she recruited Mary, who in turn enlisted a Brewster neighbor, Diana Ross. They began singing and recording as The Primettes in 1959, but when they signed with Motown Records a year later, Florence selected The Supremes as their new name. Eventually Ross became the lead singer and Ballard grew dissatisfied with the group's management, she began drinking and was fired in 1967 for missing recording sessions and performances. She married her boyfriend Thomas Chapman and attempted a solo career with ABC Records. When her Motown settlement money was depleted by her lawyer, ABC also canceled her contract in 1970, after two unsuccessful singles and shelving an album, which was posthumously released in 2001. Ballard filed a lawsuit against Motown in 1971 for additional royalty payments she believed she was due to receive, but the case was dismissed and separated from her husband. She became an alcoholic while raising her three daughters on welfare in Detroit. Around 1974 Mary Wilson helped her to make a comeback. Ballard entered Henry Ford Hospital for rehab treatment and slowly started to recover. In early 1975, Florence received a monetary settlement from her former attorney's insurance company, reconciled with Chapman and decided to return to singing. She performed several times in 1975, but on February 22, 1976 she died from cardiac arrest caused by a coronary thrombosis, at the age of 32.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Matthew Patay <pataygs@voicenet.com>
- SpouseThomas Chapman(February 29, 1968 - February 22, 1976) (her death, 3 children)
- ChildrenNicole ChapmanLisa Chapman
- ParentsLurlee WilsonJesse Ballard Sr
- RelativesMaxine Ballard(Sibling)Bertie Ballard(Sibling)Jesse Ballard Jr(Sibling)Gilbert Ballard(Sibling)Geraldine Ballard(Sibling)Barbara Ballard(Sibling)Billy Ballard(Sibling)Calvin Ballard(Sibling)Pat Ballard(Sibling)Linda Ballard(Sibling)Roy Ballard(Sibling)Hank Ballard(Cousin)
- At the time of her death Ballard was actually on the verge of a very successful comeback. After winning a settlement from a slip-and-fall incident in which she had broken her leg, Ballard took the money and used it to put herself through a successful rehab and got herself back into shape. On June 25, 1975, she performed in Detroit as a part of the Joan Little Defense League at the Henry and Edsel Ford Auditorium, backed by the female rock group 'The Deadly Nightshade', to a highly receptive crowd. She sang Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman", and when the audience wanted an encore - a The Supremes encore - Ballard sang "Come See About Me". Soon after she received offers for recording contracts, interviews and appearances. She also performed on television, including a fairly candid conversation about her past and hoped future during an appearance on the local Detroit TV talk show, "The David Diles Show".
- Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Supremes) in 1988.
- The Effie White character from the Broadway play (and film) "Dreamgirls" is loosely based on Ballard. When Jennifer Hudson won the Golden Globe for her performance as Effie in the film version (Dreamgirls (2006)), she dedicated the award to Ballard, describing her as "a lady who never got a fair chance".
- Ranked #16 on VH1's Greatest Women of Rock N Roll
- The Supremes were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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