Florence Mills

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Florence Mills, born Florence Winfrey (January 25, 1896 - November 1, 1927), known as the "Queen of Happiness," was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty. A daughter of former slaves Nellie (Simon) and John Winfrey, she was born Florence Winfrey in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 1896.

Featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and photographed by Bassano and Edward Steichen, she was best known for her renditions of "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" and "I'm Cravin' for that Kind of Love." She starred in Shuffle Along at Daly's 63rd Street Theatre (barely on Broadway), one of the events credited with beginning the Harlem Renaissance, as well acclaimed reviews in London, Paris, Ostend, Liverpool, and other European venues. She became an international superstar starring in the hit show Blackbirds.

From 1921 until her death in 1927, she was married to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson (1888-1990), whom she met in 1917 as the dancing conductor of a black jazz band known as the Tennessee Ten.

Exhausted from more than 250 performances of the hit show Blackbirds in London in 1926, she became ill with tuberculosis. Her condition further weakened her and she died of infection following an operation in New York City, New York on November 1, 1927.

After her death, Duke Ellington memorialized Mills in his song "Black Beauty."