Ella Jean Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1918 in Newport News, Virginia. Raised in Yonkers, New York, she fled her abusive stepfather after her mothers passing, making money by singing and dancing on the sidewalks of Harlem and warning prostitutes of the arrival of the police. Her first love was dance, but a talent show at the Harlem Opera would soon change the course of her dreams. At age 16, Ella was discovered while participating in a highly competitive contestone as difficult as those at the Apollo Theater. When she stepped out onto the stage, dressed in cast-off clothing and wearing mens boots, her nerves disallowed her from dancing and she began to sing. Her life would never be the same after she received thunderous applause from the audience and a $25 prize.

Ella was immediately brought to the attention of Chick Webb, who exclaimed, "I dont want that old ugly thing!" But, he took her in, and from 1934 to 1939, Ella sang with the Chick Webb band. Webb, along with his wife Sally, also became her legal guardians. In 1935, Ella released her first recording "Love and Kisses," and soon gathered a number of adoring fans. In 1937, Ella won the Down Beat magazine poll as the Best Female Vocalist of the Year.

The catalyst for Ellas success, however, occurred with the release of "A Tisket, A Tasket," a swing version of a nursery rhyme song which she released at age 20. When Webb passed away in 1939, Ella took over and led the band for two years, earning the respect and admiration from other musicians and fans.

Soon afterwards, Ella found herself attracted to a new era of jazz, bebop, and joined Dizzy Gillespies band. Her career took a new twist as she began to develop the art of skat singingjazz improvisation using the human voice as an instrument. After recording "How High the Moon" and "Lady Be Good," there was no doubt that Ella was the master of skat singing.

In the mid 1940s, working with the American impresario Norman Granz, Ella toured Europe and Asia and performed in his Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. She appeared with American jazz composer Duke Ellington in 1958 at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and also toured frequently with the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Ella was married twice over her lifetime. Her first husband was Benny Kornegay, a shipyard worker, and her second was the jazz bassist Ray Brown. During the last decade of her life, she was plagued with numerous illnesses, yet still managed to perform until 1992only four years before her death. Her physical debiliation was crushing, aggravated mostly by diabetes that eventually led to the amputation of her legs below the knees in 1993. Ella Fitzgerald passed away on June 15, 1996.

This Biography written by Christina Carpenter and edited and reformatted by Sean Glass