Ledisi, a Grammy-winning vocalist, has wowed fans with her unparalleled vocals for over twenty years. Ledisi is also a songwriter, author, actress, music producer, film producer, publisher, educator, and record company executive.
Growing up, Ledisi was heavily influenced by many soulful music icons, but especially Dr. Nina Simone. Ledisi, in 2021, released her dream project on her label entitled, “Ledisi Sings Nina” with the Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra conducted by Adonis Rose. This tour de force jazz project garnered Ledisi her 14th Grammy nomination and received rave reviews, prompting John Legend to say, “In terms of her range, dexterity, clarity, and versatility, she can do anything she wants. She’s one of the great singers in the world, period.”
In addition to a Grammy win and nominations, Ledisi has garnered three Soul Train Music Awards, 19 NAACP Image Award Nominations, an NAACP Theatre Award, and an NAACP nomination for Breakthrough Performance in a Film for her role as Mahalia Jackson in Remember Me. Ledisi also received two LA Alliance Ovation Award Nominations, one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Born in New Orleans and raised in Oakland, CA, Ledisi has earned a place in the pantheon of the greatest singers of her generation. She has headlined nationally sold-out tours, and performed alongside Dave Matthews, Gary Clark Jr, Vince Gill, Keb Mo, and Maxwell as well as jazz greats Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, and Patti Austin.
No stranger to the film and television world, Ledisi landed her first feature, singing in the George Clooney-directed film Leatherheads. In 2015 she portrayed the great Mahalia Jackson in the Oscar-nominated movie, Selma. In her first major television role, Ledisi played Patti LaBelle on the BET hit series American Soul followed by a standout performance on the FX hit series, “POSE”. She can also be seen in Twice Bitten with her co-star Lisa Raye on BET Plus. In 2022 Ledisi landed a starring role, portraying the great Mahalia Jackson in Remember Me, a biopic about the late singer’s life. In that same year, Ledisi was an executive producer, writer, and star of All Saints Christmas seen on the Hallmark Chanel. In 2023 Ledisi portrayed Gladys Knight in the biopic Spinning Gold a film about Casablanca Records’ chief, Neil Bogart.
In 2000 Ledisi made her Broadway debut as a “Radio and Washing Machine” understudy in Caroline or Change directed by George C. Wolfe. She returned to theater in 2019 as The Ancestor, in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway musical, Witness Uganda by Griffith Matthews and Matt Gould, the role for which she received the LA Alliance Nomination. That same year she co-wrote/co-produced her one-woman show, The Legend of Little Girl Blue. The show premiered at the Wallis Theatre in Beverly Hills to 19 sold-out shows. Ledisi returned to a Broadway stage in 2022 as “Sonja” a feature in the revised version of the musical The Life, directed by Billy Porter, at the New York City Center.
Ledisi is extremely passionate about being an advocate for the Arts, lobbying for young musicians, and protecting the rights of creatives. She is currently a Professor at Berklee College of Music, and an Artist in Residency for Berklee’s Jazz and Gender Justice Program. She is also the second black woman to be President of the Recording Academy’s Los Angeles Chapter. She continues to focus her efforts on increasing and giving voice to diversity in everything she does. In 2021, Ledisi had the esteemed honor of becoming an Honorary Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. She, along with her line sisters, Michelle J. Howard, Abby Phillip, Joy-Ann Reid, Ambassador Shabazz, and Collette V. Smith, are known as “The Justice League.”
As an author, she released her first book Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love and Power. Her latest book, Don’t Ever Lose Your Walk: How to Embrace Your Journey was released by her publishing company.
When you speak of women in entertainment Ledisi has brazenly put herself squarely at the head of the conversation. Ledisi is excited about launching more projects in the future for herself and others. “I am finally realizing my limitless potential as a creative and also now as a businesswoman.”
