Renowned as both a television star and a top-flight interpreter of jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, and straight-ahead pop music, Della Reese's many talents have ensured a long, varied, and legendary show biz career. In addition to being nominated for both an Emmy and a Grammy and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Reese is also an ordained minister in the Universal Foundation for Better Living, an association of churches she helped found in the early '80s.
Born Deloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931, the young Reese began singing in the Baptist church choir in her ho...