“Empress of Soul” Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded songs through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which comprised her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.
Gladys Knight Net Worth
American singer-songwriter-actress-entrepreneur Gladys Knight is worth an estimated $8 million. As a result of her many top-charting R&B recordings, including “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Gladys Knight earned the title of “Empress of Soul.”She and her siblings formed a singing group named “The Pips” when she was 8 years old.
After a successful run at Motown Records and a brief tenure with Buddah Records in 1973, the trio made the transition to mainstream music while opening for R&B legends like Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. In 1973, Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded “Midnight Train to Georgia,” a song that would become a hallmark for the group.
The mid-1970s were a peak time for the band. They had their own TV special in the summer of 1975, and Knight appeared in the film “Pipe Dreams,” for which she and The Pips also recorded the music, in 1976. The Grammy-winning track “Love Overboard” was featured on Gladys Knight and the Pips’ final album, “All Our Love,” which was released by MCA Records in 1988.
In the next year, 1989, Knight embarked on a solo career, recording the theme song for the James Bond film “License to Kill” alongside special guests Dionne Warwick and Patti Labelle. At the age of 16, Knight wed guitarist Jimmy Newman from Atlanta, Georgia. After having two children together, Newman, a heroin addict, left the family and eventually died.
In 1979, after a five-year custody fight over their son Shanga, her second marriage dissolved. Her ex-husband was producer Barry Hankerson. After meeting Les Brown in 1993, Knight wed him in 1995; the couple divorced in 1997. She tied the knot with William McDowell, a business consultant, in 2001.
Gladys Knight Solo Profession
In 1978, Buddah Records published “Miss Gladys Knight,” Knight’s debut self-titled album. The following year, in 1979, she dropped “Gladys Knight” on Columbia Records. After that, for a brief while in the early 1980s, she reassembled the Pips. Before she formally began her solo career, she and the trio recorded their final album together in 1987.
She had already built up a substantial fan base because to the achievements of the Pips and the success of the 1985 collaboration she had with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John titled “That’s What Friends Are For.” In 1989, she recorded the theme song for the James Bond film “License to Kill.”
By far Knight’s most popular self-titled album was 1991’s “Good Woman.” The R&B chart crowned it the most popular song. In 1995, she released “Just for You,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album. She kept steadily producing music over the next years. As of her 2014 album, “Where My Heart Belongs,” she had released 30 R&B albums in the top 40, not counting her work with the Pips.
Gladys Knight Film/TV/Awards
Though she is best known for her musical contributions, Knight has also made film and TV appearances throughout her career. She is known for her cameo appearances on shows like “Benson,” “The Jeffersons,” “A Different World,” “Living Single,” and “New York Undercover.” In 2019, she also appeared on “The Masked Singer.”
Numerous prizes and recognitions have been bestowed to Knight over his career. Knight’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was installed in 1995. The legendary group Gladys Knight & the Pips entered the Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2007, she won the Society of Singers’ ELLA Award and was dubbed the “Empress of Soul,” a moniker that has followed her throughout her career.
“Rolling Stone” magazine also included her among the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Knight will be honored at the Kennedy Center in 2022. Seven Grammys have been announced for her as of this writing: four for her solo work and three for her collaboration with the Pips.
Gladys Knight True Estate
Gladys purchased a Las Vegas, Nevada, property for $695,000. She sold this home in 2018 for $720,000. The home reportedly had a lot of unique features, such a recording studio in the basement, which made it difficult to sell. They continue to own a property on a golf club in nearby Henderson, Nevada. Gladys purchased a 20-acre farm in North Carolina’s Fairview in 2007.
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