Melba Moore
Biography
Melba Moore, an American singer and actress, grew up in Harlem and Newark, New Jersey. She started performing in 1967 in the original Broadway cast of Hair, first as Dionne and later as Sheila, and in 1970 she won a Tony Award for her featured role as Lutiebelle in Purlie. She signed with Buddah Records in 1975 and reached a wide audience with the 1976 single This Is It. Grammy nominations followed for Best New Artist, for Lean on Me and for Read My Lips, and in 1986 she scored number one R&B hits with A Little Bit More, a duet with Freddie Jackson, and Falling. Her screen work includes Def by Temptation (1990) and The Fighting Temptations (2003), and she returned to Broadway in Les Misérables in 1995. Later stage projects included Ain't Misbehavin' in 2007 and Roll On in 2022, and she was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2023.
80years old
Turns 81 on October 29in 14 days
- Born New York City
- Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
- Beatrice Melba Smith (birth name)Also credited as Beatrice Melba Hill
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 14 years1989 to 2003
Every film, newest first
- 2003The Fighting TemptationsIMDb rating 5.6
- 1990Def by TemptationIMDb rating 5.3
- 1989All Dogs Go to HeavenIMDb rating 6.8
Genres
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Behind the award
Moore's 1985 single "Read My Lips" brought her a third Grammy nomination, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. She was just the fourth black artist to be nominated in the rock category.
A role that slipped away
Moore left the Broadway musical Timbuktu! after a few weeks in 1978 and was replaced in the role of Marsinah by Vanessa Shaw.
A first
Moore's first significant hit came with the Van McCoy-penned "This Is It", which made the Billboard Hot 100, the R&B chart's top 20, and the UK Singles Chart's top 10, her biggest success in that country.
A first
In 1986, Moore headlined the CBS sitcom Melba, which debuted the evening of the Challenger explosion. The show was abruptly canceled, but five episodes aired that summer.
Melba Moore movies on Netflix
Worked with
Melba Moore made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Samuel L. Jackson's page
Burt Reynolds's page
Cuba Gooding Jr.'s page
Mike Epps's page
Dom DeLuise's page
Wendell Pierce's page
Don BluthDirector, 1 film, 1989
All films by Don Bluth
Gary GoldmanDirector, 1 film, 1989
All films by Gary Goldman
All films by Jonathan Lynn
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 1970 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.