Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950), known professionally as Natalie Cole, is an American singer and songwriter.

Natalie Cole is the daughter of noted crooner Nat King Cole. In several interviews, Cole talked about her upbringing; she was raised in an affluent area of Los Angeles, and her family, which she has referred to as "the black Kennedys," lived just a few doors down from the California governor. Cole also stated in an interview that she did not connect with her cultural heritage or "blackness" until she attended college. She was 15 years old when her famous father died of lung cancer.

She attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts. In her childhood, she was exposed to the greats of jazz, soul and blues at an early age, and she began performing at the age of 11.

Cole has been married three times, and has a son, Robert Yancy, (by Marvin Yancy), born in 1977; her son is a musician who tours with her. She later married former Rufus drummer Andre Fischer, who co-produced her album Unforgettable... With Love.

Her debut album in 1975, Inseparable, resulted in chart success with the single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (#1 R&B, #6 Pop). Her performance of the song won her a 1976 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, a category that had heretofore been monopolized by Aretha Franklin. She also was awarded the Best New Artist Grammy of 1976. She gained a new generation of fans when American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias sang "Inseperable" on the show to extremely good reviews.

More hits followed through 1980, including her biggest Pop hit, 1977's "I've Got Love On My Mind," as well as "Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady)" (1976), "Our Love" (1978), and "Someone That I Used To Love" (1980). "I've Got Love On My Mind" and "Our Love" both earned certifications as Gold singles.

Cole's career paused in the early 1980s as she dealt with the challenges of her severe drug problem. By 1985, Cole was back in good health, and began a comeback.

Her first step was with the album Dangerous, released on the Modern label. In 1987, she released Everlasting (on EMI Manhattan) which sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and won Cole a Soul Train Award for Female Single of the Year for the #1 R&B ballad "I Live for Your Love". The album garnered her three major hit singles: "Jump Start," "I Live For Your Love" (#2 AC and #13 Pop as well as #1 R&B), and a successful remake of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" (#5 Pop, #16 AC, and #1 Dance). The album also included a remake of one of her father's signature hits, "When I Fall In Love," which did moderately well on the AC chart.

In 1989, another album, Good To Be Back gave her another chart success "Miss You Like Crazy" (#1 both R&B and AC, and #7 Pop).

Cole may be best remembered for her 1991 album, Unforgettable... with Love, featuring her own arrangements of her father's greatest hits. Ironically, during her early career, Cole was reluctant to capitalize on her father's name, and wanted to forge her own identity by going after the soul market in earnest. For many years, she also found the prospect of recording her late father's songs too painful on a personal level.

Her decision to record the songs was a chart success; the album sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone, and won Cole several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. The album featured a duet, the title track, with her father, created by splicing a recording of his vocals into the track. As a single, it reached #14 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart, and went gold.

Cole has released several more albums of pop standards in the years since; as a result of appealing to the "adult standards" audience, she has made only occasional forays onto the pop singles charts in that time (for example, "A Smile Like Yours" in 1997), although her albums still sell well. Cole is considered one of the core artists of the smooth jazz format, garnering frequent airplay on smooth jazz radio stations with both her classic songs and her newer material.

In 1995 she performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996.

Her 1999 album Snowfall On The Sahara marked a return to the easy adult-contemporary soul that categorized her late-1980s hits, but for 2002's critically-praised Ask A Woman Who Knows, she turned more to the jazz side of the spectrum, covering songs made famous by Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, and Sarah Vaughan.

In September 2006, she released "Leavin'", a cover album of tracks made popular by Shelby Lynne, Kate Bush, Sting, and Fiona Apple, among others; the album is a hybrid of rock, pop music, and R&B.

Cole has carved out a secondary career in acting. She has also appeared several times in live concerts or other music related programs, including the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute with sidemen Richard Campbell, Jeffrey Worrell, Eddie Cole and Dave Joyce. In 1990, she (along with jazz vocalist Al Jarreau) sang the song "Mr. President" on HBO's Comic Relief special, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. After Johnny Mathis appeared on a special of Cole's in 1980, the two kept in contact, and in 1992, he invited Cole to be a part of his television special titled "A Tribute To Nat Cole" for BBC-TV in England. It had high viewer ratings and was successful. From that project, an album with the same name was released, and featured several medley and solo numbers.

Cole has made a number of dramatic appearances on television, including guest appearances on I'll Fly Away, Touched by an Angel, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2006, she made a memorable guest appearance on the popular ABC show Grey's Anatomy as a terminally ill patient. Her character visited Seattle Grace Hospital to have a fork removed from her neck that her husband had stabbed her with during a mishap; the couple had been having an intimate encounter in public.

Cole has also made several appearances in feature films, most recently in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely. She has appeared in several made-for-TV movies, most notably as the lead in Lily in Winter. Cole was featured on Macy Gray's album "Big" singing Finally Make Me Happy.

She also sang the national anthem with the Atlanta University Center Chorus at Super Bowl XXVIII

On December 2, 2006, Cole performed for the first time in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, as part of the annual Cayman Jazz Fest.

On the February 5, 2007, episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Cole sang "I Say a Little Prayer" at a benefit dinner for Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson).

She can also be seen in the last scene of Nas' music video for "Can't Forget About You". The song uses a sample of her father's song "Unforgettable". Cole is sitting at a piano in a cabaret-style lounge mouthing her father's song with Nas standing beside her, sharing the moment.

In 2000, Cole released an autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life. * In the book, Cole admitted to using LSD, heroin and crack cocaine. * Cole said she began recreational drug use while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. * She also disclosed that she was arrested in Toronto, Canada for possession of heroin in 1975. * Cole continued to spiral out of control - including one incident where she refused to evacuate a burning building, and another where her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she and her first husband, the late Reverend Marvin Yancy, were on a drug binge. She did eventually enter rehab in 1983.

In concert with the release of the book, her autobiography was turned into a made-for-TV movie, The Natalie Cole Story, which aired December 10, 2000 on NBC.

Inseparable *Released: May 11, 1975 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #18, R&B #1 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)", "Inseparable"

Natalie *Released: April 9, 1976 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #13, R&B #3 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady)", "Mr. Melody"

Unpredictable *Released: February 1977 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #8, R&B #1 *RIAA Certification: Platinum *Singles: "I've Got Love On My Mind", "Party Lights"

Thankful *Released: November 16, 1977 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #16, R&B #5 *RIAA Certification: Platinum *Singles: "Our Love", "Annie Mae"

Natalie...Live! *Released: June 13, 1978 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #31, R&B #9 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"

I Love You So *Released: March 19, 1979 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #52, R&B #11 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "Stand By", "Sorry", "The Winner"

We're The Best Of Friends (with Peabo Bryson) *Released: November 15, 1979 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #44, R&B #7 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Gimme Some Time", "What You Won't Do For Love"

Don't Look Back *Released: May 15, 1980 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #77, R&B #17 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Someone That I Used To Love", "Hold On"

Happy Love *Released: August 13, 1981 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: US Pop #132, R&B #37 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "You Were Right Girl", "Nothing But A Fool"

I'm Ready *Released: August 12, 1983 *Label: Epic *Chart Peak: US Pop #182, R&B #54 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Too Much Mister", "I Won't Deny You"

Dangerous *Released: May 23, 1985 *Label: Modern / ATCO *Chart Peak: US Pop #140, R&B #48 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Dangerous", "A Little Bit Of Heaven", "Secrets"

Everlasting *Released: June 14, 1987 *Label: EMI-Manhattan / Elektra (Re-issue) *Chart Peak: US Pop #42, R&B #8, UK #62 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "Jump Start", "I Live For Your Love", "Everlasting", "Pink Cadillac", "When I Fall In Love"

The Collection *Released: July 7, 1987 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: N/A *RIAA Certification: N/A

Good To Be Back *Released: May 2, 1989 *Label: EMI-Manhattan / Elektra (Re-issue) *Chart Peak: US Pop #59, R&B #21, UK #10 *RIAA Certification: Platinum *Singles: "Miss You Like Crazy", "I Do", "Starting Over Again", "As A Matter Of Fact"

Unforgettable... with Love *Released: September 10, 1991 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #1 (5 weeks), R&B #5, Jazz #1, UK #11 *RIAA Certification: 8x Platinum *Singles: "Unforgettable", "Route 66", "The Very Thought Of You"

Take A Look *Released: June 8, 1993 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #26, R&B #14, Jazz #1, UK #16 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "Take A Look", "As Time Goes By"

Holly & Ivy *Released: October 25, 1994 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #36, R&B #20 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "No More Blue Christmas"

Stardust *Released: September 24, 1996 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #20, R&B #11 *RIAA Certification: Gold *Singles: "When I Fall In Love"

This Will Be - Natalie Cole's Everlasting Love *Released: June 3, 1997 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: N/A *RIAA Certification: N/A

Snowfall On The Sahara *Released: June 22, 1999 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #163, R&B #64 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Snowfall On The Sahara", "Say You Love Me"

The Magic Of Christmas *Released: September 21, 1999 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #157, R&B #84 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "The Christmas Song"

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 *Released: November 7, 2000 *Label: Elektra *Chart Peak: US Pop #154, R&B #86 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "A Smile Like Yours", "Angel On My Shoulder", "Livin' For Love"

Love Songs *Released: July 24, 2001 *Label: Elektra / Rhino *Chart Peak: N/A *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "A Smile Like Yours", "Angel On My Shoulder", "Livin' For Love"

Ask A Woman Who Knows *Released: September 17, 2002 *Label: Verve *Chart Peak: US Pop #32, R&B #24, Jazz #1 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Tell Me All About It", "Better Than Anything (with Diana Krall)"

Anthology *Released: April 8, 2003 *Label: Capitol *Chart Peak: N/A *RIAA Certification: N/A

Leavin' *Released: September 26, 2006 *Label: Verve *Chart Peak: US Pop #97, R&B #16 *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "Day Dreamin'"

Love Songs (Re-issue) *Released: January 30, 2007 *Label: Rhino *Chart Peak: N/A *RIAA Certification: N/A *Singles: "A Smile Like Yours", "Angel On My Shoulder", "Livin' For Love"

Forgiveness *Release: May 11, 2008 *Label: Sony BMG *Chart Peak: TBA *RIAA Certification: TBA *Singles: TBA

*List of number-one dance hits (United States) *List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

<div class="references-small"> * Fink, Mitchell and Rubin, Lauren. Natalie Cole's Secret Drug Peril. Daily News (New York). October 16, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2006. </div>

* NatalieCole.com Official homepage * * Natalie Cole biography and updates at Soul Tracks