Age, Biography, and Wiki
- Name: Diana Ross
- Birth Date: March 26, 1944
- Age: 81 years (as of 2025)
- Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Nationality: American
Diana Ross first gained fame as the lead singer of The Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s, before launching a solo career that further cemented her status as a music icon. She is recognized as one of the most successful female artists of all time, with accolades including "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard and multiple Guinness World Records.
| Occupation | Stage Actress |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 26 March 1944 |
| Age | 81 Years |
| Birth Place | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) (estimated)
- Weight: Approximately 121 lbs (55 kg) (estimated)
- Body Measurements: Information is not publicly confirmed, but she is known for her elegant and slender frame.
Note: Official confirmation of her current height, weight, and measurements is limited, as Ross has not publicly shared these details recently.
Ross began to dominate interviews with the media, answering questions aimed at Ballard or Wilson. She pushed for more pay than her colleagues. In 1965, she began using the name Diana from the mistake on her birth certificate, surprising Ballard and Wilson who had only known her as Diane. Following difficulties with comportment, weight, and alcoholism, Florence Ballard was fired from the Supremes by Gordy in July 1967, hiring Cindy Birdsong from Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles as Ballard's replacement. Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, making it easier to charge a larger performance fee for a solo star and a backing group, as it did for other renamed Motown groups. Gordy initially considered having Ross leave the Supremes for a solo career in 1966, eventually changing his mind because he felt the group's success was still too significant for Ross to pursue solo obligations. Ross remained with the Supremes until early 1970.
| Height | 165 cm |
| Weight | 121 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
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Dating & Relationship Status
- Current Status: Single
- Previous Relationships:
- Robert Ellis Silberstein (married 1971–1977; three children)
- Arne Næss Jr. (married 1985–2000; two children)
- Children:
- Rhonda Ross Kendrick, Tracee Ellis Ross, Chudney Ross, Ross Naess, and Evan Ross
Ross has kept details of her personal life relatively private in recent years, but she is known for her close relationships with her children and grandchildren.
She was the second of six children born to Ernestine (née Moten; January 27, 1916 – October 9, 1984) and Fred Ross Sr. (July 4, 1920 – November 21, 2007). Her mother named her Diane, but the birth certificate was mistakenly filled out with the name Diana. Her family and Detroit friends called her Diane all her life. Ross grew up with two sisters (Barbara and Rita) and three brothers: Arthur; Fred Jr.; and Wilbert, also known as Chico. Ross was raised Baptist.
Ross and her family originally resided at 635 Belmont St., in the North End section of Detroit, near Highland Park, Michigan, where her neighbor was Smokey Robinson. When Ross was seven, her mother contracted tuberculosis, causing her to become seriously ill. Ross's parents sent their children to live with Ernestine's parents, the Reverend (pastor of Bessemer Baptist Church) and Mrs. William Moton in Bessemer, Alabama. After her mother recovered, she and her siblings returned to Detroit.
When she was fifteen, Ross joined the Primettes, the sister group to a male vocal group called the Primes, after she had been brought to the attention of music manager Milton Jenkins by Primes member Paul Williams. Among the other members of the Primettes were Florence Ballard (the first group member hired by Jenkins), Mary Wilson, and Betty McGlown, Williams' girlfriend. After the Primettes won a talent competition in 1960 in Windsor, Ontario, A&R executive and songwriter, Robert Bateman invited them to audition for Motown Records.
In 1973, Ross had her second number-one hit in the U.S. with the ballad "Touch Me in the Morning". Later in the year, Motown issued Diana & Marvin, a duet album with fellow Motown artist Marvin Gaye. The album became an international hit. Touring throughout 1973, Ross became the first entertainer in Japan's history to receive an invitation to the Imperial Palace for a private audience with the Empress Nagako, wife of Emperor Hirohito. In April 1974, Ross became the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy Awards, with John Huston, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven.
In May 2002, Ross and all five of her children appeared on Barbara Walters' Mother's Day television special. Shortly thereafter, Ross admitted herself into the 30-day substance abuse program at the Promises Institute in Malibu, California, after friends and family began to notice a burgeoning alcohol problem. Ross left the program three weeks later and began to fulfill previously scheduled concert dates, beginning with a performance before a 60,000-strong crowd at London's Hyde Park, for Prince Charles' Prince's Trust charity.
On June 30, 2017, Ross headlined the Essence Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her daughter Rhonda Ross-Kendrick performing as the opening act. On November 19, 2017, Ross received the American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Ross performed several of her hits, ending with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", during which she brought all of her grandchildren onstage. Her eldest grandson, eight-year-old Raif-Henok Emmanuel Kendrick, son of Rhonda Ross-Kendrick and husband, Rodney, performed an impromptu dance behind Ross, which gained attention. Ross was then joined onstage by all of her children, their spouses, first ex-husband Robert Ellis, Smokey Robinson (who brought Ross to Motown) and Motown founder, Berry Gordy.
Ross has been married twice and has five children. Ross became romantically involved with Motown CEO Berry Gordy in 1965. The relationship lasted several years, resulting in the birth of Ross's eldest child, Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein, in August 1971. Two months into her pregnancy with Rhonda, in January 1971, Ross married music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein, who raised Rhonda as his own daughter, despite knowing her true paternity. Ross told Rhonda that Gordy was her biological father when Rhonda was 13 years old. Beforehand, Rhonda referred to Gordy as "Uncle B.B."
Ross has two daughters with Silberstein, Tracee Joy Silberstein (Tracee Ellis Ross) and Chudney Lane Silberstein, born in 1972 and 1975, respectively. Ross and Silberstein divorced in 1977. In 2023, Smokey Robinson said in an interview that he and Ross had an affair lasting approximately one year while Robinson was married to his first wife, Claudette. According to Robinson, Ross ended the affair as Robinson admitted to still being in love with Claudette, a friend of Ross's. When asked about Robinson's story, Ross's representative had no comment.
Ross met her second husband, Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Næss Jr., in 1985, and married him the following year. She became stepmother to his three elder children; Katinka, Christoffer, and folk singer Leona Naess. They have two sons together: Ross Arne (born in 1987) and Evan Olav (born in 1988). Ross and Næss divorced in 2000, after press reports revealed that Næss had fathered a child with another woman in Norway. Ross considers Næss the love of her life. Næss fell to his death in a South African mountain climbing accident in 2004. Ross remains close with her three ex-stepchildren.
Ross was raised in the Baptist church. According to her 1993 autobiography, Secrets of a Sparrow, her initial performances were in the Bessemer Baptist Church of Bessemer, Alabama, led by her maternal grandfather, Pastor William Moten, who (with his wife) raised her and her siblings there during their mother's bouts with tuberculosis.
Berry Gordy asked Ross to introduce The Jackson Five to the public. Eventually, public misunderstandings resulted in Ross erroneously being given credit for the discovery of the Jackson 5. Gordy decided that the misunderstanding was "good for business", so her "discovery" became a part of Motown's marketing and promotions plan for the Jackson 5. Consequently, their debut album was titled Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. Motown producer Bobby Taylor claims to have discovered the Jacksons, though, singer Gladys Knight also makes the claim. Even so, Ross embraced the role and became a good friend of Michael Jackson, serving as a mother figure to him.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Robert Ellis Silberstein (m. 1971-1977) Arne Næss Jr. (m. 1986-2000) |
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| Children |
Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth (2025): $250 million
- Income Sources: Music sales, touring, film and television roles, royalties, merchandise, and real estate investments.
- Performance Fees: Reports suggest she earns between $150,000 and $400,000 per concert, depending on the venue and event.
- Real Estate: Has owned a large mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut; properties have included land parcels valued at millions.
On her 14th birthday, in 1958, her family relocated to the working-class Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, settling at St. Antoine Street. Ross attended Cass Technical High School, a four-year college and preparatory magnet school, in downtown Detroit, and, aspiring to become a fashion designer, she took classes in clothing design, millinery, pattern making, and tailoring. In the evenings and on weekends she also took modeling and cosmetology classes (Ross has written that Robinson loaned her the funds required to attend these), and participated in several of the school's extracurricular activities, including its swim team. In 1960, Hudson's downtown Detroit store hired Ross as its first African American bus girl. For extra income, she also provided hairdressing services to her neighbors. Ross graduated from Cass Tech in January 1962.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Music: Became a superstar with The Supremes, then as a solo artist, selling over 100 million records worldwide. She is the only artist to have #1 hits as a soloist, as part of a duet, and in a trio.
- Film & Television: Starred in several films, including Lady Sings the Blues (Oscar-nominated), Mahogany, and The Wiz.
- Business & Investments:
- Owned part of Motown Records after its sale to MCA in the late 1980s.
- Extensive real estate holdings, particularly in Connecticut, with homes valued at $9–10 million per parcel.
- Philanthropy: Active in various charitable causes and has supported music education and children's charities.
Following her departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross embarked on a successful solo music career with the release of her eponymous debut solo album. She went on to release 26 studio albums, including Touch Me in the Morning (1973), Diana Ross (1976), Diana (1980), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981) and Swept Away (1984). Her singles "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Touch Me in the Morning", "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)", "Love Hangover", "Upside Down" and "Endless Love", all topped the Billboard Hot 100, making her the female solo act with the most number-one songs in the United States at the time. Her success continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s with global hits, including "I'm Coming Out", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", "All of You", "Chain Reaction", "If We Hold on Together", and "When You Tell Me That You Love Me".
Ross was named the "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard in 1976. Since her solo career began in 1970, Ross has sold over 100 million records worldwide. She is the only female artist to have had U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles as a solo artist, as the other half of a duet, as a member of a trio, and as an ensemble member, a total of 18. In 2021, Billboard ranked her the 30th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time. Her hits as a Supreme and a solo artist combined put Ross among the top-five artists on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart from 1955 to 2018. She has scored a top 75 U.K. hit single for a record 33 consecutive years (1964–1996). In 1988, Ross was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes, and is one of the rare performers to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was the recipient of a Special Tony Award in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and 2023 (becoming the first woman to win the award twice, the latter as a member of the Supremes), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
The Primettes later auditioned for Motown, before various Motown executives. In Berry Gordy's autobiography, To Be Loved, Gordy recalled that he had been heading to a business meeting when he happened to hear Ross singing "There Goes My Baby", and that Ross's voice "stopped me in my tracks". He approached the group and asked them to perform it again, but, after learning how young they were, Gordy advised them to finish high school before trying to get signed by Motown.
In 1968, Ross began to perform as a solo artist on television specials, including the Supremes' own specials such as TCB and G.I.T. on Broadway, The Dinah Shore Show, and a Bob Hope special, among others. In mid-1969, Gordy decided that Ross would depart the group by the end of that year, and Ross began recording her initial solo work that July. One of the first plans for Ross to establish her own solo career was to publicly introduce a new Motown recording act.
The film adaptation of The Wiz had been a $24 million production, but upon its October 1978 release, it earned only $21,049,053 at the box office. Though pre-release television broadcast rights had been sold to CBS for over $10 million, the film produced a net loss of $10.4 million for Motown and Universal. At the time, it was the most expensive film musical ever made. The film's failure ended Ross's short career on the big screen and contributed to the Hollywood studios' reluctance to produce the all-black film projects which had become popular during the blaxploitation era of the early to mid-1970s for several years.
In October 1981, Ross released her first RCA album, Why Do Fools Fall in Love. The album sold over a million copies and featured hit singles such as her remake of the classic hit of the same name and "Mirror Mirror". Shortly thereafter, Ross established her production company, named Anaid Productions ("Diana" spelled backwards), and also began investing in real estate and touring extensively in the United States and abroad.
In 1988, Ross chose to not renew her RCA contract and had been in talks with her former mentor Berry Gordy to return to Motown. When she learned of Gordy's plans to sell Motown, Ross tried advising him against the decision, though he ended up selling it to MCA Records in June of that year. Following the sale of the company, Ross was asked to return to the Motown label with the condition that she have shares in the company as a part-owner; Ross accepted the offer.
In 1994, One Woman: The Ultimate Collection, a career retrospective compilation, became a number one hit in the UK, selling quadruple platinum. The retrospective was EMI's alternative to Motown's box set Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs. Ross performed during the opening ceremony of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in Chicago, and during the pre-match entertainment of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. The World Cup ceremony had her take a penalty kick that was staged for her to score, and the goalposts were intended to fall down from the power of her shot. She infamously missed the penalty instead.
On January 28, 1996, Ross performed at the Super Bowl XXX halftime show, held at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Earlier that month, Ross's Tokyo concert, Diana Ross: Live in Japan, filmed live at the city's Nippon Budokan Stadium, was released. In May 1996, Ross received the World Music Awards' Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry Award. On November 29, EMI released the compilation album, Voice of Love, featuring the singles "In the Ones You Love", "You Are Not Alone" and "I Hear (The Voice of Love)". On February 8, 1997, EMI released the Japanese edition of Ross's album, A Gift of Love, featuring the single, "Promise Me You'll Try". In May, she performed with operatic tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras again at the Superconcert of the Century concert, held in Taipei, Taiwan. She later inducted the Jackson 5 into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6.
On February 19, 1998, Ross hosted the Motown 40 telecast on ABC. In 1999, Ross was named the most successful female singer in the history of the United Kingdom charts, based upon a tally of her career hits. Madonna would soon succeed Ross as the most successful female artist in the UK. Later that year, Ross presented at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in September of the year and shocked the audience by touching rapper Lil' Kim's exposed breast and pasty-covered nipple, amazed at the young rapper's brashness. In 1999, she and Brandy Norwood co-starred in the television movie, Double Platinum, which was aired prior to the release of Ross's album, Every Day Is a New Day. From that album, Ross scored a Top 10 hit in the UK in November that year with "Not Over You Yet".
On January 14, 2005, Ross performed at the Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope TV concert to help raise money for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. On January 20, 2005, Ross launched her M.A.C. Icon makeup collection, as part of the beauty corporation's Icon Series. In 2005, Ross participated in Rod Stewart's Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Volume IV recording a duet version of the Gershwin standard, "I've Got a Crush on You". The song was released as promotion for the album and later reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart, marking her first Billboard chart entry since 2000. Ross was featured in another hit duet, this time with Westlife, on a cover of Ross's 1991 hit "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", repeating the original recording's chart success, garnering a No. 2 UK Singles Chart hit (No. 1 in Ireland).
Social Network
Diana Ross maintains a presence on social media, especially Instagram, where she shares updates about performances, family, and her legacy. Her official accounts are a mix of professional and personal content, engaging a broad, diverse audience.
- Instagram: [@dianaross]
- Facebook: Official Diana Ross Page
- Twitter: No active official account (as of 2025)
After the release of a modestly successful album, Last Time I Saw Him (1973), Ross's second film, Mahogany, was released in 1975. The film reunited her with Billy Dee Williams, her co-star in Lady Sings the Blues and featured costumes designed by Ross herself. The story of an aspiring fashion designer who becomes a runway model and the toast of the industry, Mahogany was a troubled production from its inception. The film's original director, Tony Richardson, was fired during production, and Berry Gordy assumed the director's chair himself.
On December 5, 2000, Ross received a Heroes Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). The Heroes Award is the highest distinction bestowed by the New York Chapter. Ross's first public post-RTL appearance was at a fundraiser for former president Bill Clinton. In January 2001, Love & Life: The Very Best of Diana Ross was released in the United Kingdom, becoming Ross's 17th gold album in that country. In June, Ross presented costume designer Bob Mackie with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Fashion Awards.
Various works have been inspired by Ross's career and life. The character of Deena Jones in both the play and film versions of Dreamgirls was inspired by Ross. Motown: The Musical is a Broadway musical that launched on April 14, 2013. It is the story of Berry Gordy's creation of Motown Records and his romance with Diana Ross. She was portrayed by Valisia LeKae in 2013 and Lucy St. Louis in 2016. Ross was also portrayed by Candice Marie Woods (from 2017 to 2019) and Deri'Andra Tucker (2021) in the stage play Ain't Too Proud. There have been many other portrayals of Ross in films, television and other media including Holly Robinson Peete in The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), Michelle Williams in American Soul (2019) and Kat Graham in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael (2025).
Education
- High School: Cass Technical High School, Detroit, Michigan
- College/University: Did not attend university; focused on her music career from an early age.
Diana Ross’s education was foundational in her pursuit of music and performance, but she quickly transitioned into professional entertainment as a teenager.
U.S. ticket sales for the new tour were brisk, from coast to coast. Venues, such as Long Island's Westbury Music Fair, California's Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, attempted to add extra shows, due to public demand. Sold-out performances in Boston followed. In August, shortly after the tour began, however, Ross re-entered the Promises Institute's substance abuse rehabilitation program. That December, during her stay at Arizona's Canyon Ranch Health Resort, Ross was pulled over by Tucson police for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. She failed a breathalizer test and was arrested for a DUI. Ross was sentenced in 2004 to 48 hours in jail, which she served near her home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Ross has influenced many artists including Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Madonna, Jade Thirlwall, Questlove, Ledisi and the Ting Tings. Several of Ross's songs have also been covered and sampled. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" has been featured in the film Chicken Little. The song has also been covered live and on albums by Jennifer Lopez and Amy Winehouse. Janet Jackson sampled "Love Hangover" on her 1997 song "My Need" (featured on the album The Velvet Rope), having already sampled "Love Child" and "Someday We'll Be Together" by Ross & the Supremes on her 1993 tracks "You Want This" and "If" (both released as singles from the Janet album). "Love Hangover" was also sampled in Monica's 1998 hit single "The First Night" as well as being sampled by Will Smith, Master P (who also sampled "Missing You"), Heavy D and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, "It's Your Move" was sampled in 2011 by Vektroid for her song "Lisa Frank 420 / Modern Computing", which appeared in her ninth album Floral Shoppe under her one-time alias Macintosh Plus. "It's My House" was sampled by Lady Gaga for her song "Replay" which appeared on the 2020 album Chromatica. According to the sampling music database site, WhoSampled, Ross has seen her music sampled over 744 times and covered over 382 times; sans her music in the latter half of her Supremes tenure, Ross' solo work has been sampled 672 times and covered over 316 times.
