Biography for
Sarah Vaughan (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

27 March 1924, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death

3 April 1990, Hidden Hills, California, USA (lung cancer)

Birth Name

Sarah Lois Vaughan

Nickname

Sassy
The Divine One

Mini Biography

Sarah Vaughan was born March 27,1924 in Newark, New Jersey and died April 3, 1990 in Los Angeles, California of lung cancer. Her parents were Asbury, a carpenter, and Ada, a laundress. She began studying music when she was seven, taking eight years of piano lessons and two years of organ. As a child, she sang in the choir at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Newark, and played piano and organ in high school productions at Arts High School. She entered an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in New York's Harlem district, singing "Body and Soul", and won the $10 prize and a week's engagement at the Apollo. From 1944 to 1945, she sang with Billy Eckstein and in 1947 she married her manager, trumpeter George Treadwell. Her later husbands included pro football player Clyde Atkins and trumpeter Waymon Reed. She received many awards, including an Emmy in 1981 for a tribute to George Gershwin and a Grammy in 1983.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mike McKinley

Spouse

Waymon Reed	(1978 - 1981) (divorced)
Marshall Fisher	(1971 - 1977) (divorced)
Clyde Atkins	(4 September 1958 - 1968) (divorced) 1 child
George Treadwell	(1947 - 1957) (divorced)

Trivia

Ranked #50 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Ranked #50 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1982.

Ranked #50 on VH1's Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Was an Honorary Memeber of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 854-856. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

She is nominated for the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for her services and contributions to Arts and Entertainment.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1724 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Mother of Paris Vaughan.

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