Alice tan ridley biography of christopher columbus
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She won $25,000 on the 2002 pilot episode of Fox's 30 Seconds to Fame and in 2005 was a contestant on Showtime at the Apollo.
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Ridley’s powerful presence carried her all the way to the semi-finals of the competition, although the season ultimately crowned singer-songwriter Michael Grimm the winner.
Her performances reached a larger audience through YouTube videos.
Aside from daughter Gabourey, she is also survived by son Ahmed Sidibe, both from her marriage to Ibnou Sidibe, which ended in divorce.
No cause of death was announced, but the star retired in 2018 when she reportedly began suffering from dementia, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Ridley, who appeared on NBC's America’s Got Talent in 2010, passed away on March 25 in New York.
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Alice Tan Ridley, a New York City subway singer who gained fame in her 50s after a show-stopping appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” has died at age 72.
Ridley was also the mother of Oscar-nominated “Precious” actress Gabourey Sidibe.
She died in New York City on March 25, according to an online obituary.
She performed the classic At Last with such soul and emotion that Howie exclaimed: “What an amazing voice!” while Piers praised her “raw talent.”
Sharon, captivated by the strength and beauty of her voice, questioned how such talent had gone unnoticed for so long: “Alice, millions of people must have gone back and forth on that subway over the 20 years.
After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City and earned her teaching certificate.
She taught special needs students at P.S. 134 in Brooklyn, but turned to singing soul songs for tips in the subway after losing her job and divorcing her husband in the early ’90s.
Ridley was a mainstay at stations like Herald Square for more than 30 years and performed at Harlem’s Cotton Club before appearing in a number of films and TV shows, including as a subway singer in 2005’s “Heights,” starring Elizabeth Banks and Glenn Close.
In 2002, she was the winner of the first episode of Fox’s “30 Seconds to Fame,” taking home $25,000, and later competed on “Showtime at the Apollo.”
She gained national fame on season 5 of “America’s Got Talent” in 2010, stunning the judges with a cover of Etta James’ “At Last” and eventually advancing to the semifinals.
She then went on to record and release her first album, 2016’s “Never Lost My Way,” a collection of covers and originals.
Ridley released her debut album, Never Lost My Way, at the age of 63 in September 2016. She was also featured in the 2005 documentary Rize by comedian David Chappelle, competed on Showtime at the Apollo, and made an appearance on 30 Seconds to Fame.
In her personal life, Ridley married Ibnou Sidibe in 1980. She would advance all the way to the semifinals.
In September 2016 at age 63, she released her debut album, Never Lost My Way, a collection of her favorite tunes as well as original songs she wrote with producer Jay Stolar.
She tackled such emotional topics as watching her children grow and dealing with a cheating lover.
(In 2010, she had burned a CD of songs for a homemade album she called Spread Your Wings.)
After appearing on America's Got Talent, Ridley and a seven-piece band headlined at venues such as B.B. King's club in New York and at performing arts centers across the U.S.
She also performed in Argentina, Germany, Uruguay, Morocco, Romania and The Netherlands and sang the pop song "Good Feeling," used for commercials for Buick and Royal Caribbean Cruises.
She did go back to her beginnings as well, as the Times noted, with Ridley performing in the subway again in 2014. She also sang at Harlem’s Cotton Club for many years.
When she was 58, Ridley was spotted in the subway by Israeli student Dvir Assouline, who started managing her in 2010.
Twin Delivery coming soon! That year, she also performed "Amazing Grace" in the David LaChapelle documentary Rize and "America the Beautiful" in the film Heights, starring Elizabeth Banks and Glenn Close.
Her death was confirmed by her family, including Precious star Gabourey, 41, in an obituary published by Sconiers Funeral Home.
She was 72.
Ridley died March 25 in New York, her family announced.
Although widely recognized as the mother of Precious star Gabourey Sidibe, Alice Tan Ridley carved out her own moment in the spotlight, capturing hearts during her 2010 appearance on America’s Got Talent. She was predeceased by another sister, Dorothy Pittman Hughes, a civil rights activist, and another brother, singer Roger Ridley.
Deborah Wilker contributed to this report.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Now 41, Gabourey has continued to build an impressive career, starring in films such as Antebellum and White Bird in a Blizzard, and taking on major roles in television series like Empire and American Horror Story.
Off-screen, life has become even more full for the actress—she and her husband Brandon Frankel recently became parents to twins, a boy and a girl, who arrived last year.
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In a 2016 New York Times profile, she recalled being influenced by jazz and gospel and by such artists as Aretha Franklin.
She graduated from Stewart County High School in 1959, moved to New York in 1971, earned her teaching license from the New York State Board of Education and had two children.
Ridley taught special-needs kids at P.S.
134 in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn but lost her job and got divorced, and as a single mother, she began making a living by singing for tips in the subway, primarily at the Herald Square station.
"I was a big secret," Ridley told the Timesof busking by the subway. “She brought joy to so many people every day.”
That year, she auditioned for AGT with the Etta James classic "At Last," and her raw power and charm immediately resonated with the judges.
The couple had two children together - Gabourey and her brother - before eventually parting ways and divorcing.
Gabourey Sidibe made a powerful entrance into the world of film with her breakout role in 2009’s Precious, portraying Claireece “Precious” Jones, a young girl in Harlem navigating unimaginable hardship.