Mary Wilson

Mary Wilson  was an American singer and concert performer best known as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. history,[2] as well as one of the all-time best-selling girl groups in the world. The group released a record-setting twelve number-one hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100,[a] ten of which Wilson sang backing vocals for.

Wilson remained with the group following the departures of other original members, Florence Ballard in 1967 and Diana Ross in 1970, though the group disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together.

Continuing a successful career as a concert performer in Las Vegas, Wilson also worked in activism, fighting to pass Truth in Music Advertising bills and donating to various charities. Wilson was inducted along with Ross and Ballard (as members of the Supremes) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Mary Wilson was born to Sam and Johnnie Mae Wilson in Greenville, Mississippi. She was the eldest of three children including a brother, Roosevelt, and a sister, Katherine. Wilson lived with her parents and moved to St. Louis and later to Chicago before living with her aunt Ivory "I.V." and uncle John L. Pippin in Detroit.

 Wilson reunited with her mother and siblings at the age of 9. To make ends meet, Wilson's mother worked as a domestic worker. Before reaching her teenage years, Wilson and her family had settled the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, a housing project in Detroit. Wilson first met Florence Ballard at an elementary school in Detroit. The duo became friends while singing in the school's talent show. In 1959, Ballard asked Wilson to audition for Milton Jenkins, who was forming a sister group to his male vocal trio, the Primes. Wilson was soon accepted in the group known as The Primettes, with Diana Ross and Betty McGlown. Wilson graduated from Detroit's Northeastern High School in January 1962. Despite her mother's insistence she go to college, Wilson instead focused on her music career.

Wilson died in her sleep on February 8, 2021, in Las Vegas at the age of 76.

Her cause of death is unknown.

Two days before her death, she had announced on YouTube that she was planning to release new solo material with Universal Music Group, and hoped it would come out before March 6, her birthday.[1] Motown founder Berry Gordy said he was "extremely shocked and saddened" by the news of her death and said Wilson was "quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes."

Wilson is survived by her daughter, son, several grandchildren, a sister and brother.