Stephanie Mills net worth is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who has been in the music industry for over five decades. She is best known for her role as Dorothy in the original Broadway production of The Wiz and for her hit songs such as “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” “Home,” and “I Feel Good All Over.” She has won two Grammy Awards and sold over 30 million records worldwide. Here are some details about her life, career, and net worth.
Stephanie Mills Net Worth
Stephanie Mills has an estimated net worth of $2 million as of 2023. She has earned most of her wealth from her music career as a singer and songwriter. She also makes money from royalties, concerts, and appearances.
Stephanie Mills Early Life and Career
Stephanie Dorthea Mills was born in Queens, New York, on March 22, 1957. She grew up in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where she sang gospel music at Cornerstone Baptist Church. She began her professional career at age nine, appearing in the Broadway musical Maggie Flynn. She won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater six times when she was eleven and became the opening act for the Isley Brothers.
She made her breakthrough in 1974 when she starred as Dorothy in the African-American version of The Wizard of Oz, called The Wiz. She received rave reviews for her performance and sang “Home”, which became her signature song, and a number-one R&B hit. She reprised her role in the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz, opposite Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
1970s – 1980s
Mills signed with 20th Century Fox Records in 1979 and released her third studio album, What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin’, which went gold and produced three top ten R&B singles. Her next album, Sweet Sensation (1980), went platinum and featured her biggest hit to date, “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” which won her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. She also collaborated with Teddy Pendergrass on the duet “Two Hearts,” which was another top-ten R&B hit.
In 1981, she released her fifth album, Stephanie, which also went platinum and spawned the hits “Night Games” and “Last Night.” She then moved to Casablanca Records and released two more albums, Tantalizingly Hot (1982) and Merciless (1983), which included the singles “You Can’t Run from My Love,” “Pilot Error” and “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?”.
In 1984, she signed with MCA Records and released her eighth album, I’ve Got the Cure, which featured the dance hit “The Medicine Song.” She also recorded the theme song for the comedy film Fletch, “Bit by Bit.” Her ninth album, Stephanie Mills (1985), went gold and contained the hits “Stand Back” and “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love.”
In 1987, she released her tenth album, If I Were Your Woman, which went platinum and topped the R&B chart. It included the singles “I Feel Good All Over,” “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush on Me,” and “Secret Lady”. She also recorded a duet with Robert Brookins called “Where Is the Love,” a top twenty R&B hit.
In 1989, she released her eleventh album, Home, which also went platinum and featured the songs “Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel),” “Comfort of a Man,” and a remake of her signature song “Home.”
1990s – 2000s
Mills continued to record and release albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s, although with less commercial success than before. Some of her notable albums from this period include Christmas (1991), Something Real (1992), Personal Inspirations (1994), and Born for This! (2004) and Breathless (2010). She also returned to the stage several times, starring in musicals such as Children of Eden (1991), Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1996) and The Wiz (2006).
Stephanie Mills Personal Life and Awards
Mills has been married three times: to Jeffrey Daniel from Shalamar (1980-1983), to Dino Meminger (1989-1991), and Michael Saunders (1993-2001). She has a son named Farad Mills, who was born with Down syndrome. She also had a brief relationship with Michael Jackson in the late 1970s.
Mills has won several awards for her music and acting achievements. Some of them are:
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1981) for “Never Knew Love Like This Before”
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (1977) for The Wiz
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist (1988)
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album, Female (1988) for If I Were Your Woman
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female (1988) for “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush on Me” Trey Anastasio
