Dionne Warwick: Movies & Box Office

Born Marie Dionne Warwick on December 12, 1940, in East Orange, New Jersey, she grew up in a musically rich family; her mother managed the Drinkard Singers and her father worked as a Pullman porter and record promoter, giving her early exposure to gospel at New Hope Baptist Church. After graduating East Orange High School in 1959, she attended the Hartt College of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut, where she began singing backing vocals for New York recording sessions, a chance that led to her meeting composer Burt Bacharach. Bacharach hired her to record demo songs with lyricist Hal David, and her distinctive contralto, noted for its husky warmth and elegant phrasing, quickly caught the ear of Scepter Records president Florence Greenberg, who signed her in 1962. Her debut single "Don't Make Me Over" reached the top‑40 and launched a string of hits—including "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?"—many of which were later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s she dominated the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the second‑most‑charted female vocalist of the rock era and earning six Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and inductions into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and multiple other honors. After a brief hiatus following her split with Bacharach and David, she revived her career with Arista Records in 1979, scoring massive successes such as "I'll Never Love This Way Again" and the Bee Gees‑produced "Heartbreaker," while also hosting the television show Solid Gold and participating in charitable projects like "That's What Friends Are For" which raised millions for AIDS research. In the 2000s she continued to record, perform, and appear on television, notably as a contestant on The Masked Singer, and remains a cultural icon celebrated for her timeless voice, professionalism, and philanthropic spirit.