Della Beatrice Howard Robinson, born in 1929, is an American gospel singer and the late Ray Charles’s second wife.
Ray Charles was a renowned singer, songwriter, pianist, and alto saxophonist, widely regarded as one of the most influential and iconic singers of all time. But, apart from being the ex-wife of such a legendary musician, what else do you know or wish to learn about Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
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Summary of Della Beatrice’s Bio
Full name Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Nickname Bea Gender Female Year of birth 1929 Age 93 years (As of 2022) Known for Being Ray Charles’s second wife. Place of birth Los Angeles, CA, Perris Nationality American Ethnicity African-American Religion Christianity Profession Gospel singer Hair colour Black Eye colour Dark brown Height 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm) Weight 76 Kilograms (168 pounds) Sexual orientation Straight Marital status Divorced Ex-spouse’s name Ray Charles Children’s names 3 (Robert, David, and Ray) Net worth $15 million Who is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
Della is famous for being Ray Charles’s second wife. She was born in 1929 in Los Angeles, California, United States. She went to a school in Richmond until fourth grade.
How Old is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
Della Beatrice fondly called Bea was born in the year 1929 in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. The identities of her parents are not revealed and there’s not much information about her family background or siblings. However, it is recorded that her parents were never married.
Della was raised singlehandedly by her mother as her father left after she was birthed and was never present in her life. Her father would later marry a woman with whom he lived in Houston, Texas. Beatrice received her education at Richmond until fourth grade.
Della Was Ray Charles’ Wife For 22 Years Before their Divorce
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson and Ray Charles met for the first time in 1954 in Houston Texas. At that time, she was in her mid-20s and was doing quite well in her singing profession. They met in a hotel in the city and Della never expected to see him again after leaving as they never exchanged greetings or contact. More so, she didn’t find Charles impressive at their first meeting.
However, Della found it puzzling that she subsequently continued to run into him on the road. It was some years later that she believed those frequent meetings were not a coincidence as they started dating after several meetings. Barely a year after they began dating, they tied the knot on the 5th of April 1955.
Their wedding ceremony took place in a junk-filled back room in Dallas, Texas, United States, and a woman they never met before read their wedding vows. Ray was at the time of their marriage still trying to establish himself in the music industry and struggling financially. Regardless, The first few years of their marriage were seemingly happy and trouble-free.
They had their first child, a son named Ray Charles Robinson Jr. in May 1955. This simply shows that Della was heavily pregnant at the time of their wedding. Over the next three years, they welcomed their second and third sons David and Robert.
In 1977, the Couple Filed for Divorce
After 22 years of marriage, in 1977, Della Beatrice and Ray Charles got divorced; they first separated in 1976 and finalized their divorce processes in the following year. Details of their separation and subsequent divorce were kept away from the media. Della was the one who filed for divorce because of Charles’s adulterous relationships with several women and his addiction to drugs.
Ray Charles was involved in an infamous affair with Mary Ann Fisher, a rhythm and blues singer. Moreover, he allegedly started seeing two other women just two years into his marriage with Della and these women were Mae Mosely Lyles and Margie Hendricks.
Meanwhile, Beatrice Howard was married and divorced twice before Charles. She didn’t disclose the identity of the men she was first married to but one of the marriages reportedly ended as a result of physical abuse. Ray Charles was also married once before Della. He was married to Eileen Williams Robinson and the marriage also ended in divorce just after a few months. The jazz singer has a total of 12 children from 11 different women.
Ray Charles’ Ex-wife was a Gospel Singer
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson has a career as a lesser-known gospel singer in Los Angeles. She joined Cecil Shaw’s church choir and started singing on different radio stations and performing live at concerts. Shortly, she and her bandmates started getting some contracts to perform in larger and more popular churches and theatres.
Over time, the band received a recording deal and produced a couple of songs, Della’s face appeared on some covers of the CDs. Regardless, Beatrice was not publicly recognized until she married the famous singer, Ray Charles. Her net worth is estimated at a mouthwatering $15 million and the fortune stemmed from the funds she received as part of her divorce settlement. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ray Charles was worth a whopping $75 million at the time of his death.
Della Beatrice is famous for being Ray Charles’s second wife. Although she loves her personal life kept away from the media, Della couldn’t completely avoid the spotlight, considering the height of fame her ex-husband gathered. Apart from her early career as a gospel singer, Ray Charles’ ex-wife spent most of her life raising her children.
As a result of his music career, Ray Charles was rarely around so the responsibility of taking care of the kids and home was almost entirely up to her.
Is Della Beatrice Still Alive?
The current whereabouts of Della Beatrice Howard Robinson cannot be ascertained. The ex-wife of Ray Charles gradually went out of the limelight after their divorce. As of 2010, however, she was known to be living in Riverside County and was very healthy. But we cannot tell exactly where she is at the moment or how she is doing. We also cannot certainly say whether she is still alive or dead.
There are no recent photos of Della Beatrice in the media. She has kept a low profile, and as a result, there is no information about her current whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Ray Charles died on 4 June 2004 at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He died of complications resulting from liver failure. His funeral took place just after 14 days on 18th June 2004 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.
