Stephanie Mills

Early life

Stephanie Mills was born to Joseph and Christine Mills and raised in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Mills was raised Baptist and sang gospel music as a child at Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church.

Career

Mills began her professional career at age nine, appearing in the Broadway musical Maggie Flynn. After winning Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater six weeks straight at age eleven, Mills went on to become the opening act for the Isley Brothers. In 1973, Mills was signed to Paramount Records by Michael Barbiero, and her first single "I Knew It Was Love" was released. Mills was later signed to Motown after being suggested by Suzanne de Passe. Her first two albums there failed to produce a hit, and Mills left the label in 1976.

Mills's career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in the seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical The Wiz, an African-American adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The song "Home" was first performed by Mills in the stage production and was covered later by Diana Ross for the movie adaptation three years later. Mills’s commercial success in the music industry remained elusive until 1979, when she signed to the 20th Century Fox Records label. There, Mills found her niche in mainly disco music, recording songs such as "Put Your Body In It", "You Can Get Over", and "What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin'". The resulting album, What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin', being Mills's first gold record.

She quickly followed the success with 1980's Sweet Sensation, which featured Mills's hit "Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a number 12 R&B and number 6 Pop hit in 1980, as well as reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. 1981's Stephanie featured a top hit for her and Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Two Hearts".

Her 1983 album, Merciless, featured her hit cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the number 3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her third UK hit with "The Medicine Song" (number 29), which also reached number 1 on the U.S. dance chart and number 8 on the R&B chart. On May 24, 1984, Mills returned to theater to star in a short-lived touring revival of The Wiz.

In 1985, Mills's recording of "Bit by Bit (Theme from Fletch)" was featured in the Chevy Chase film, Fletch, and reached number 52 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, number 78 on The Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the Dance Chart.

Success for Mills had peaked until 1986, when her version of the Angela Winbush-penned "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", hit number 1 on the R&B singles chart. She truly returned with her next release, If I Were Your Woman in 1987 under MCA Records, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1971, a three-week number 1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over", and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me", to name a few of the songs released. The album reached platinum status. That same year, she appeared in the NBC TV special, Motown: Merry Christmas along with other musical artists and actors, performing the song, "Christmas Everyday", which was written by actor/comedian Redd Foxx.

Mills's success continued with 1989's Home album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man", the title track, a cover of her old standard from The Wiz and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel", which became another platinum record for Mills.

Mills recorded one more album (1992's Something Real) and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. In 1993, she once again starred in the role of Dorothy in The Wiz. This revival was also short lived, closing after 28 performances. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1994 on GospoCentric Records entitled Personal Inspirations. The set was produced by Donald Lawrence and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love". Thereafter, Mills took a break from recording to care for her son.

In 1997, Mills played the lead in a major production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. She made an appearance in the 2007 gospel TV series Sunday Best and was featured in a live interview on The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, where she mentioned that she has her own record label (JM Records). In 2008, she began a comeback with singles recorded with BeBe Winans and rapper DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing Born For This (released on Expansion Records in the UK) on August 3, 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go", was released. A twin-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled Gold was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year

Towards the end of 2012, Mills released a new single "So In Love This Christmas", available for download. In 2015, Mills was cast as Aunt Em in the NBC live musical production of The Wiz, forty years after her initial Broadway run in the show.

Mills gained media attention in 2018 with her response to singer Sam Smith, who remarked in a video posted to Instagram that they did not like Michael Jackson, but the Jackson hit "Human Nature" was a "decent song". Mills' fiery response quickly gained traction as she criticized Smith in her own Instagram responses, both accusing Smith of cultural appropriation and referring to them as a "one hit wonder".

In 2021, Mills participated in a Verzuz battle with singer Chaka Khan, at which both singers performed hits from their discography. In 2024, Mills returned to Broadway after forty years as Missus Hermes in the musical Hadestown.

Personal life

Mills has been married three times:

• Jeffrey Daniel: (1980–1983), Jeffrey Daniel was from the R&B/soul group Shalamar.
• Dino Meminger: (1989–1991).
• Michael Saunders: (1993–2001), Minister Louis Farrakhan officiated the wedding ceremony.

Mills has a son, Farad Mills, who was born with Down syndrome. She also once had a brief relationship with fellow singer Michael Jackson.

Mills was inducted as an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. on January 21, 2026.

Discography

Main article: Stephanie Mills discography

;Studio albums

• Movin' in the Right Direction (1974)
• For the First Time (1975)
• Love Has Lifted Me (1976)
• What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' (1979)
• Sweet Sensation (1980)
• Stephanie (1981)
• Tantalizingly Hot (1982)
• Merciless (1983)
• I've Got the Cure (1984)
• Stephanie Mills (1985)
• If I Were Your Woman (1987)
• Home (1989)
• Something Real (1992)
• Personal Inspirations (1994)
• Born for This! (2004)

Stage work

• Maggie Flynn (1968)
• The Wiz (1974–79; 1984; 1993)
• Harlem Suite (1988)
• Stephanie Mills Comes Home to Broadway (1989)
• Children of Eden (1997)
• Purlie (1998)
• Ragtime (1999)
• Funny Girl (2002) (Actors Fund benefit concert)
• Hadestown (2024)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

Grammy Awards

Miscellaneous awards and honors

References

References

1. @iamstephaniemills. (August 12, 2017). "Celebrating 60 years of me". .
2. . (August 27, 1981). ["Marriage Gone Sour For Mills And Daniels"](https://books.google.com/books?id=R0IDAAAAMBAJ&q=stephanie+mills+jeffrey+daniel&pg=PA16). *JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company*.
3. . (March 1, 1984). ["Music: There's More To Stephanie Mills Than Meets The Eye"](https://books.google.com/books?id=yhQEAAAAMBAJ&q=stephanie+mills+jeffrey+daniel&pg=PA124). *Orange Coast Magazine*.
4. . (June 11, 1990). ["Special Occasion"](https://books.google.com/books?id=mK8DAAAAMBAJ&q=stephanie+mills+Dino+Meminger&pg=PA45). *JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company*.
5. Annie Gowen. (February 23, 1996). "There's Still No Place Like Home For Mills". Chicago Tribune.
6. . (February 8, 1993). ["Stephanie Mills Wed"](https://books.google.com/books?id=1boDAAAAMBAJ&q=stephanie+mills+michael+saunders&pg=PA36). *JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company*.
7. Betts, Graham. (June 2, 2014). "Motown Encyclopedia". AC Publishing.
8. "Stephanie Mills Biography". AllMusic.
9. Hogan, Ed. "Artist Biography [Stephanie Mills]". [[AllMusic.com]].
10. Unterberger, Trevor Anderson,Janine Coveney,Mackenzie Cummings-Grady,Kyle Denis,Angel Diaz,William E. Ketchum III,Carl Lamarre,Joe Lynch,Heran Mamo,Gail Mitchell,Michael Saponara,Andrew. (2025-06-19). "The 75 Best R&B Artists of All Time (Full List): Staff Picks".
11. Charles L. Sanders. (February 1, 1982). "Stephanie Mills: The Painful Education Of A Young Superstar". Ebony Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company.
12. (February 4, 2012). "Today's Pride of Bed-Stuy: Stephanie Mills". Patch Bed-Stuy.
13. "Stephanie Mills". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
14. (December 2, 2015). "Stephanie Mills and Forty Years of 'The Wiz'".
15. ""Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz" Released Today".
16. (May 11, 2015). "Stephanie Mills, Broadway's original Dorothy in 'The Wiz,' cast as Aunt Em in the live NBC TV special".
17. "Stephanie Mills Page".
18. "Gold & Platinum".
19. Roberts, David. (1998). "British Hit Singles & Albums". Guinness World Records Limited.
20. "Fletch – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". [[AllMusic.com]].
21. (May 11, 2015). "Stephanie Mills Cast in 'The Wiz Live!' on NBC". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
22. Zauzmer, Emily. (August 13, 2018). "Sam Smith Shades Michael Jackson While Boating with Adam Lambert — and Twitter Isn't Having It". People.com.
23. Golding, Shenequa. (August 14, 2018). "Stephanie Mills To Sam Smith: 'Go Sit Your One-Hit Wonder Ass Down'". Vibe.com.
24. Mitchell, Gail. (2021-11-19). "'Sister Love': Best Moments From Chaka Khan & Stephanie Mills' 'Verzuz' Legacy Showcase".
25. "Original The Wiz Star Stephanie Mills to Return to Broadway in Hadestown".
26. (July 12, 2012). "The new Stephanie Mills – singer – Interview – Ebony – Find Articles".
27. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13402053.html] {{webarchive. link. (March 28, 2015)
28. (August 11, 2010). "Stephanie Mills : Interview". [[Windy City Times]].
29. (February 5, 2016). "'The Wiz' Star Stephanie Mills Opens Up About Dating Michael Jackson". Mjvibe.com.
30. [https://www.watchtheyard.com/zetas/stephanie-mills-inducted-as-honorary-member-of-zeta-phi-beta/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAPekWVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xNzM4NDc2NDI2NzAzNzAAAR5sJLusM6gkgoVKVt5y4KEi8kEOEuW17wCEz0HQvi0gFqGcYSvrXjbNZrDHgQ_aem_yOf5R-F1H4b00ZmGG3J4zQ Stephanie Mills Inducted as Honorary Member of Zeta Phi Beta]