Name
Ella Jane Fitgerald 

Date of Birth
April 25, 1917 

Date of Death
June 15, 1996

Place of Birth
Newport News, Virginia 

Birth Family
Ella was the child of a common-law marriage
between William and Temperance Fitzgerald 

Marriage/Spouse
First husband was Benny Kornegay
Second husband was Ray Brown.
In 1957, it was reported that Fitzgerald had secretly married
Thor Einar Larsen, a young Norwegian, in Oslo. 

Children
adopted a child born to Fitzgerald’s half-sister, Frances,
whom they christened Ray Brown, Jr. 

Education
attended public school 

Career
American jazz vocalist 

Reason for Fame
Known as “First Lady of Song”, Lady Ella. 

Additional Information
With a vocal range spanning three octaves, Ella was noted for her purity of tone,
impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a “hornlike” improvisational ability,
particular in her scatsinging.  Over a recording career that lasted 59 years,
she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W.Bush.