Dee Dee Bridgewater
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Dee Dee Bridgewater was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Marion and
Matthew Garrett. They relocated to Flint, Michigan, where Dee Dee lived
until completing high school. She started out singing in school talent
shows and with local jazz bands. During her first years in college she
began singing with big bands, which lead to her work with the Thad
Jones-Mel Lewis Band. At this time,she met and married
trumpeter/composer Cecil Bridgewater. After touring the US, Europe,
USSR and Japan, the couple had a child and divorced. Dee Dee then
garnered the role of Glinda in the Broadway production of "The Wiz",
earning a Tony Award. She then married director
Gilbert Moses and moved to Los Angeles,
where she did some acting and released several hit albums. She and
Gilbert had a child. The couple moved to Virgina Beach, Virginia, where
she starred in the soap "A Different World." Upon the couple's return
to Los Angeles, Dee Dee got a leading role in the LA production of
"Sophisticated Ladies" (starring
Gregory Hines,
Hinton Battle and others). Dee Dee
remained with the company on the world tour. When Dee Dee separated
from her second husband, she relocated to Paris, France, and rekindled
her career as a jazz artist. Since her move to Europe, she has been
internationally recognized as a creative force in the jazz world,
honored with international awards and recently received two Grammy
awards for her tribute album "Dear Ella." Dee Dee currently lives in
France with her husband and has three children.
