Della Reese

Overview

Della began singing in her hometown of Detroit when she was 6 years old. As a teenager, she toured with gospel great Mahalia Jackson and, at the age of 18, she formed the Meditation Singers and became the first performer to take gospel music to the casinos of Las Vegas. She was a vocalist with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra and began making her own records. She was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Female Soloist in Gospel music in 1987. She lived in Los Angeles with her husband, producer Franklin Lett.
- IMDb mini biography by: Stacey Sanders<tsanders@comsource.net

Deep husky voice
Her sly smile and self-effacing humor
Her role as Tess on Touched by an Angel (1994)
Most of her teachings in her church that people had a God-given privilege to riches, in large part from the view that humans are divine because they are part of God.

Della was an ordained minister. She officiated at the wedding of Touched by an Angel (1994) co-star Roma Downey. She is the godmother of Downey's daughter, Reilly Marie.
Composed the Touched by an Angel (1994) theme song "Walk With You".
Was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball ceremony along with 25 other African-American women.
Had four children: Deloresse Daniels Owens (1961-March 14, 2002, adopted), James, Franklin, and Dominique. Her daughter Deloreese was her adopted child whom she acquired from a family member unable to care for her. Owens died on March 14, 2002. It was never released whether she died from suicide or from complications stemming from pituitary disease leaving behind two children, ages 19 and 21.
Suffered a stroke on the set of The Tonight Show (1962). [3 October 1979].

I was black when they hired me. They knew how old I was when they hired me.
The Lord has planned my life. I'm not a great planner but I have been open to what God has in store for me, and it's worked.
[on being the first black woman to host a talk show of the 1960s, long before Oprah Winfrey] I've had so many different chapters in my career, so many different audiences, but it always comes back to me talking to God.
[on her parents] He was the toastmaster in our neighborhood. My father was a man who knew how to walk the walk and talk the talk. My mother was the kind of woman who when she looked you in the eyes, you stood at attention.
[In 1998] I had done what I set out to do: I had the money, the gowns, the jewelry and I was happy to have them, but they did not make me happy. My daughter filled that void: she saved my life.