Biography for
Shirley Bassey More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

8 January 1937, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Birth Name

Shirley Veronica Bassey

Height

5' 3" (1.60 m)

Mini Biography

Shirley Bassey was born and raised in the working class area of Tiger Bay, Cardiff. Her father was a Nigerian/West Indian seaman who died when she was only two. She later helped to support her family by working in an Enamel factory. She made her professional debut at 16 appearing in a touring revue "Memories of Al Jolson". Her first major hit was "The Banana Boat Song," and she later sang "Goldfinger" in the James Bond movie Goldfinger (1964). Her younger daughter died of drowning in 1985, and the British tabloid newspapers reported there were implications of neglect for her daughter. She currently lives in Switzerland.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mike McKinley

Spouse

Sergio Novak	(12 August 1968 - 1977) (divorced) 1 child
Kenneth Hume	(June 1961 - 25 February 1965) (divorced)

Trivia

She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Queen's Millennium Honors List for her services to Entertainment.

She returned to the UK top forty with the 'Propellerheads' on the hit single "History Repeating" in 1997 after an absence from the UK singles chart for 24 years.

She recorded the single "There's No Place Like London" written by Lynsey De Paul and Gerard Kenny.

Sang Perry Como's song "And I Love You So" at the wedding of Joan Collins and Percy Gibson.

She was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1993 for her services to entertainment.

Measurements: 34B-25-36 1/2 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

Her daughter Sharon was born in September, 1954. Shirley's sister raised her until she was nine. This caused a scandal when the public found out.

Her father was West Indian and Nigerian. She never knew him.

Daughter Samantha was born in 1963. She drowned in 1985, after falling from The Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol.

Her first husband, Kenneth Hume, was openly homosexual and denied fathering any of her children born during their marriage.

She adopted a son from whom she is now estranged.

Daughter Sharon has 4 sons.

Her son, Mark, is her niece's biological son. She and her second husband adopted him in 1971. She also has two daughters with fathers she refuses to name.

Sang the theme songs for three of the James Bond movies -- more than any other performer. Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979). "Goldfinger" reached the #8 position on the Billboard Top 40 chart in February of 1965.

Winner of the British Record Industry Award for British Female Solo Artist in 1977.

She and Tom Jones are the only two Welsh artists (as of 2007) to have sung title songs from the James Bond series of movies.

Her favorite songs are "Fever" by Peggy Lee, "The Wonder Of You" by Elvis Presley, "Back To Black" by Amy Winehouse, "Have I Told You Lately" by Rod Stewart, "Night Fever" by The Bee Gees, "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra, "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner, "The Man That Got Away" by Judy Garland and "All By Myself" by Céline Dion. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").

Had a charity auction at Christies in 2003. "Dame Shirley Bassey: 50 Years of Glittering Gowns" raised £250,000 (US$500,000) for the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the Noah's Ark Appeal. Swarovski purchased a number of significant lots and plans to display them at Crystal Worlds Museum in Austria.

Personal Quotes

[on being awarded Dame Commander of the British Empire[ I was asleep and my manager came to wake me up because we were going out that night. I didn't feel like getting up and I said. "Go away, let me sleep". Just as I was going back to sleep he said, "You wouldn't get up even for Damehood?" I had to keep quiet for seven weeks. I nearly had a nervous breakdown. I was afraid to go out in case I told someone - my social life was nil.

Where Are They Now

(June 2005) Auctioned off the contents of her London flat, with proceeds going to charity. She now lives in Monaco.

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