Della Reese

"You see, I was born in the slums, that was before the ghetto. The ghetto was kind of refined; the slums was right there on the ground." ~ Della Reese

Born July 6, 1931 in the Black Bottom neighbor-hood of Detroit, at the age of 13 Della Reese was directing her church youth choir, singing on the radio and touring with Mahalia Jackson's gospel group. As an adult she recorded jazz, r&b, and pop songs for Jubilee and RCA records and appeared often in Las Vegas.


She hosted a variety series on television in 1969 and guest hosted The Johnny Carson Show. Her acting careeer begain with an appearance on The Mod Squad, and she had recurring roles on Chico and the Man, Sanford and Son, The A Team, It Takes Two, and Promised Land.


She is most known for the role of Tess in Touched By an Angel, which ran from 1994 through 2002. During this time she won a record-setting 7 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. She currently lives in Southern California where she is an ordained minister and founding pastor of the Understanding Principles For Better Living Church in Inglewood.