Gladys Knight

Early life

Gladys Knight was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 28, 1944, to Sarah Elizabeth (née Woods), a nurse's aide, and Merald Woodlow Knight Sr., a postal worker. Her parents were members of both the church choir and a local choir group. She has a sister, Brenda, and two brothers, Merald "Bubba" Jr. and David "Billy".

Knight was raised Baptist and began singing gospel music at age four at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Atlanta. At the age of eight, she won Ted Mack's The Original Amateur Hour TV show contest singing Nat King Cole's "Too Young." Shortly after, Knight along with her brother Bubba, sister Brenda, and cousins Eleanor and William Guest performed together during Bubba's tenth birthday party after a record player malfunctioned. The quintet later formed a group at the encouragement of Knight's mother. The group settled on the name The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin and manager, James "Pip" Woods.

The Pips performed at church, talent shows, and clubs opening for popular acts, then signed with Brunswick Records in 1957 and began releasing singles. After a few lineup changes, the group debuted their first album in 1960 when Knight was just 16. By then, she had recorded five songs and released her first hit single, “Every Beat of My Heart.” The group's success was later halted by Knight's departure to start a family with husband and musician Jimmy Newman, resuming soon after when she returned.

Knight attended the historic Booker T. Washington High School, in Atlanta, later transferring and graduating from Archer High School.

Success with the Pips

Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown Records roster in 1966 (with only three hits to their credit - "Every Beat of My Heart", "Giving Up" and "Letter Full of Tears"), and, although initially regarded as a second-string act by the label, scored several major hit singles, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (number one in 1967) (released later by Marvin Gaye), "The Nitty Gritty" (1969), "Friendship Train" (1969), "If I Were Your Woman" (1970), "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971), the Grammy Award–winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (1972), and "Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)" (1973).

In their early Motown career, Gladys Knight and the Pips toured as the opening act for Diana Ross and the Supremes. Gladys Knight stated in her memoirs that Ross kicked her off the tour because the audience's reception to Knight's soulful performance overshadowed her. Berry Gordy later told Knight that she was giving his act a hard time.

The act left Motown for a better deal with Buddah Records in 1973, and achieved even greater mainstream success that year with hits such as the Grammy-winning "Midnight Train to Georgia" (number one on the pop and R&B chart), "I've Got to Use My Imagination", "The Way We Were/Try To Remember" and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me". In the summer of 1974, Knight and the Pips recorded the soundtrack to the film Claudine with producer Curtis Mayfield, which included the songs "On and On", "The Makings of You" and "Make Yours a Happy Home".

The act was particularly successful in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom. Several of the Buddah singles became hits in the UK several years after their release in the US. For example, "Midnight Train to Georgia" hit the Top 5 of the UK singles chart in the summer of 1976, a full three years after its success in the U.S.

Knight and the Pips continued to have hits until the late 1970s, when they were forced to record separately due to legal issues, resulting in Knight's first solo LP recordings—Miss Gladys Knight (1978) on Buddah and Gladys Knight (1979) on Columbia Records. After divorcing James Newman II in 1973, Knight married Barry Hankerson, then Detroit mayor Coleman Young's executive aide. Knight and Hankerson remained married for four years, during which time they had a son, Shanga Ali. Hankerson and Knight became embroiled in a heated custody battle over Shanga Ali. In 1980, Johnny Mathis invited Knight to record two duets— "When A Child Is Born" (previously a hit for Mathis) and "The Lord's Prayer".

Solo career and other musical endeavors

While still with the Pips, Gladys Knight joined with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the 1985 AIDS benefit single, "That's What Friends Are For", a number one hit, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

Knight shared a stage with Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle for the 1986 HBO special Sisters in the Name of Love, which she co-executive produced and received three ACE Awards for Performance in a Music Special, as well as nominations for Best Music Special and Costume Design in 1987. On March 27, 1988, Knight performed a rendition of "America the Beautiful" at Wrestlemania 4 in Atlantic City, NJ. In 1989, she recorded "Licence to Kill", the title track for James Bond film of the same name, a Top-10 hit in the UK and Germany.

Knight released her third and most successful solo LP, Good Woman, on MCA in 1991, which hit number one on the R&B album chart, featured the number 2 R&B hit "Men", and reached number 45 on the main Billboard album chart — her all-time-highest showing. The album also featured "Superwoman", written by Babyface and featuring Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle; the track was nominated for a Grammy. Knight and LaBelle collaborated the same year on "I Don't Do Duets", for LaBelle's album Burnin'. Also in 1991, Knight performed the national anthem at Game 1 of the World Series.

Her fourth solo album, Just for You, went Gold and was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. The fifth solo album, At Last, earned her first solo Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Album in 2000.

Knight created and directs the Mormon-themed choir Saints Unified Voices. SUV has released a Grammy Award-winning CD titled One Voice, and occasionally performs at LDS church firesides.

In April 2004, Knight co-headlined the VH1's benefit concert Divas Live 2004 alongside Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Jessica Simpson, Joss Stone, Debbie Harry, and Patti LaBelle, in support of the Save the Music Foundation.

In 2005, a duet between Knight and Ray Charles of "You Were There" was released on Charles' duets album Genius & Friends.

Farewell tours

In October 2009, Knight started her farewell tour of the United Kingdom, which featured Tito Jackson as her supporting act and special appearances by Dionne Warwick.

The UK Farewell Tour featured higher production values than previous "Gladys Knight, a mic and a light" appearances by Knight in the UK. A glossy program was available and the show featured pre-produced animation on large on-stage screens. The tour was promoted by an appearance on the TV program Later... with Jools Holland where Knight performed "If I Were Your Woman" and "Help Me Make It Through the Night".

In spite of her "farewell", Knight started touring the UK again a few years later, playing gigs in Scotland and England in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024. A farewell tour of Australia and New Zealand was announced for March 2024.

In July 2026, Knight started touring with Smokey Robinson, co-heading the Just the Two of Us tour. In August 2026, TMZ reported that fans were concerned about Knight's disoriented behavior on stage during the tour after viral videos circulated. In response, Knight's husband and manager, William McDowell, released a statement from Knight stating she was cutting back touring and "transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward. I'll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.". On August 27, 2026, Knight posted on Instagram, "After much soul searching I've decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of ‘my career and life moving forward.

I'll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.

I'd like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl's dream come true and supporting her every step of the way. I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you.

I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.

Acting

Film

In 1976, Knight made her acting debut as the lead in the film Pipe Dreams for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. In 2003, she had a small role in the movie Hollywood Homicide, which starred Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. In 2009, Knight was featured in Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself, the film version of a play he had dramatized, and performed her song "The Need To Be" from the 1974 album I Feel a Song.

Television

In 1975, Knight starred in a variety show, The Gladys Knight and the Pips Show, which was canceled after four episodes. She also guest-starred on several TV series throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing on Benson, The Jeffersons, A Different World, Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, and New York Undercover. In 1985, she co-starred on the CBS sitcom Charlie & Co., alongside comedian Flip Wilson, which lasted for one season.

In April 2005, she portrayed a singer in an episode of JAG. In April 2009, she made a special guest appearance, and performed a song, on Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Knight has also made a number of cameo appearances, including on Las Vegas and 30 Rock. In 2012, she began a recurring role in the syndicated sitcom The First Family.

In 2012, Knight competed on season 14 of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Tristan MacManus. They were eliminated on April 24 after losing a "dance duel" to Disney Channel star Roshon Fegan and partner Chelsie Hightower, ironically on the show's "Motown Week".

In 2017, she appeared as herself in the musical-drama TV series Star.

In 2018, she played Ella Grover, mother of Captain Lou Grover, in the "Lele pū nā manu like" ("Birds of a Feather...") episode of Hawaii Five-0, which first aired on November 16, 2018.

In February 2019, she was revealed to have competed as "Bee" on the first season of The Masked Singer, in which she placed third. She performed "Chandelier", "Locked Out of Heaven", "Wrecking Ball", "What's Love Got to Do with It", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", and "I Can't Make You Love Me". She finished behind Donny Osmond as "Peacock" and T-Pain as "Monster".

Business ventures

Knight's son Shanga Hankerson owns a chain of chicken and waffles restaurants based in Atlanta, bearing her name. Gladys Knight & Ron Winans' Chicken & Waffles opened three locations in the Atlanta area. One location was featured on the Travel Channel original series Man v. Food. In June 2016, authorities in Georgia raided two of the restaurants and its headquarters.

In 2016, WSB-TV reported that Hankerson was at the center of an investigation involving unpaid taxes, penalties and interest. Georgia Department of Revenue Special Investigations Chief Jeff Mitchell told the station that the investigation solely involved Hankerson and not Knight.

Personal life

In 1960, Knight married Atlanta musician and high school sweetheart James "Jimmy" Newman. The couple had a miscarriage and went on to have two children. Their son, James "Jimmy" Gaston Newman III, was born in 1962. Their daughter, Kenya Maria Newman, was born in 1963.

In the early 1960s, Knight's family and the Pips moved to Detroit. The family lived in Sherwood Forest, an upscale neighborhood on Detroit's West Side. Knight retired from the road to raise their children while the Pips toured on their own, later returning with Newman as the group's musical director. Newman later became addicted to drugs and left the family when Knight was 20. They remained married for over 12 years and were separated for 7 years until their divorce in 1973. Newman died a few years later.

In 1974, Knight married Barry Hankerson, the founder of Blackground Records, in Detroit. The couple had a son, Shanga Ali Hankerson, born on August 1, 1976. Around 1977, they relocated to Las Vegas. Their marriage ended in 1979 with a prolonged custody battle over their son. Knight spent over a million dollars searching for her son after he was kidnapped. In 1995, Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown, divorcing in 1997.

Knight was raised a Baptist, later was a Catholic, and was baptized in 1997 into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), inspired by her daughter and son who had left Catholicism to join. She had occasionally teased LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley, saying they needed to inject some "pep" into their music. He agreed, which resulted in the founding of the Saints Unified Voices gospel choir directed by Knight. In 2018, Knight led the Be One Choir at the "Be One" event in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Knight has an honorary doctorate from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Knight's son Jimmy Newman III managed her career through his Newman Management Inc. until his death from heart failure on July 10, 1999, at age 36. Newman was survived by his wife, Michelene; daughters Nastasia and Gabrielle; and sons Rishawn, Stefan, and Sterling. Following his death, her daughter Kenya Jackson took over management.

Legacy

In 1996, Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One year before, Knight had received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, Knight received the Society of Singers ELLA Award at which time she was declared the "Empress of Soul". She is listed on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2021, Knight received the National Medal of Arts. In the following year Knight received a Kennedy Center Honor.

In 2023, Knight received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Knight has been portrayed by Brandy Norwood on the television series American Dreams in 2004, Elise Neal in the 2014 film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, Kelly Rowland on the 2019 series American Soul, Ledisi in the 2023 film Spinning Gold, and Liv Symone in the 2026 film Michael.

Discography

Studio albums

Miss Gladys Knight (1978)

Gladys Knight (1979)

Good Woman (1991)

Just for You (1994)

Many Different Roads (1998)

At Last (2000)

One Voice (with Saints Unified Voices) (2005)

Before Me (2006)

Another Journey (2013)

Where My Heart Belongs (2014)

Published works

Knight, Gladys. At Home With Gladys Knight, McGraw-Hill, 2001 – ISBN 1-58040-075-2

Knight, Gladys. Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story, Hyperion Press, 1998 – ISBN 0-7868-8371-5

Filmography

Awards, honors, and achievements

Grammy Awards

Knight has won seven Grammys with twenty-two nominations altogether.

Other awards and honors

1992: Essence Award for Career Achievement

1995: Hollywood Walk of Fame

1996: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1997: Trumpet Awards Foundation Pinnacle Award

2005: BET Lifetime Achievement Award

2007: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist

2007: Society of Singers Ella Award, also declared the "Empress of Soul"

2008: BET Inaugural Best Living Legend Award

2008: National Black Arts Festival Honoree at Legends Celebration

2011: Soul Train Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award

2017: National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

2019: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement

2021: National Medal of Arts

2022: 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Honorary degrees

Honorary Doctorate in Performing Arts, Shaw University