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Diana Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. She began singing with friends as a teenager, and eventually formed the groundbreaking 1960s trio the Supremes, going on to have hits like "Come See About Me" and "You Can't Hurry Love." Ross left for a solo career in 1969, later reaching No. 1 with hits like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Love Hangover." She starred in the films Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues as well, earning an Oscar nomination for the latter. Despite personal and professional ups and downs, Ross has withstood the test of time as a performer with a career that spans more than four decades.The SupremesDiane Earnestine Earle Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. Developing a reputation as an accomplished performer, Ross began singing in the group the Primettes with friends Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard and Barbara Martin as a teenager. Martin eventually dropped out, but the remaining members of the group went on to become the internationally successful 1960s R&B and pop trio, the Supremes (later named Diana Ross and the Supremes).Signed to Motown Records by famed producer and label founder Berry Gordy Jr., in 1961 the Supremes scored their first No. 1 hit with "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1964). The trio then broke music records by having a streak of four additional singles top the charts—"Baby Love" (1964), "Come See About Me" (1964) "Stop! In the Name of Love" (1965) and "Back in My Arms Again" (1965)—thus becoming the first U.S. group ever to have five songs in a row reach No 1. In all the group scored a monumental 12 No. 1 hits, including "I Hear a Symphony" (1965), "You Can't Hurry Love" (1966), "The Happening" (1967), "Love Child" (1968) and "Someday We'll Be Together" (1969). They thus established a phenomenal record, becoming the American vocal group with the most Billboard chart toppers in history. Music and Film StarRoss left the Supremes for a solo career in 1969 and continued to be a musical mainstay the following year with the Top 20 "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" and the No. 1 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." In 1972, she branched out into acting and starred in the Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. While the film received somewhat mixed reviews, Ross's performance garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The Blues soundtrack was a huge success and helped spurn new interest in Holiday as well. Ross went on to star in the films Mahogany 1975), co-starring Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Perkins, and The Wiz 1978). Among an array of albums, other hit songs for Ross from the 1970s included "Touch Me in the Morning" (1973), "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1976) and sensual dance classic "Love Hangover" (1976), with all three tracks reaching No. 1 on the pop charts. 'Upside Down' and 'Muscles'The next decade started out on a strong note for Ross with the Nile Rodgers-produced, platinum-selling album Diana 1980), featuring the No. 1 hit "Upside Down" as well as Top 5 track "I'm Coming Out." She had another top 10 single with "It's My Turn" and then reached No. 1 again, this time withLionel Richie on the 1981 duet "Endless Love," from the film of the same name. On her new record label RCA, Ross released albums Why Do Fools Fall in Love 1981), which offered two more Top 10 hits, and Silk Electric 1982), which had the Top 10 single "Muscles," written by Michael Jackson. But Ross's sales gradually faltered. Still she continued to record and perform and returned to Motown Records near the end of the 1980s, releasing the albumsWorkin' Overtime 1989) and The Force Behind the Power 1991), with the latter having significant international success with its singles.In the 1990s, Ross made several appearances on the small screen. She starred in the 1994 television movie Out of Darkness, playing a woman with schizophrenia. Ross then took on lighter fare with Double Platinum 1999), starring as a famous singer who had abandoned her child to pursue her career. Well-known pop performer Brandy played her daughter. Some of the songs from the project were featured on Ross's 1999 album, Every Day Is a New Day. Albums put forth by Ross in the new millennium included Blue 2006), a jazz standards set taken from Motown's archives, and I Love You (2007), a collection of mostly pop cover.
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