Diana Ross was named Diane, and a birth certificate error changed it
Her mother named her Diane, and friends in Detroit still call her that. The clerk wrote Diana. In 1965, as the Supremes were piling up number-one hits, she started using the misspelled version, catching her bandmates by surprise. Within five years she had left the group for one of pop's biggest solo careers.
Ross was born in Detroit on March 26, 1944, and grew up near Smokey Robinson, who lived next door. She studied clothing design and millinery at Cass Technical High School, hoping to be a fashion designer, and in 1960 became the first African-American bus girl at Hudson's department store. At fifteen she joined the Primettes, sister act to a male group called the Primes.
To get an audition at Motown, she asked Robinson for help; he agreed in exchange for hiring away the group's guitarist, Marv Tarplin, who then played with Robinson for over thirty years, a swap Ross called fair. Berry Gordy told the girls to finish school first, so they hung around Hitsville daily, adding hand claps and backing vocals, with Ross doubling as stylist and seamstress. Gordy signed them in January 1961 on condition they change their name; Florence Ballard picked Supremes because it was the only option not ending in ette.
Where Did Our Love Go gave them their first number one in 1964, and ten chart-toppers followed by May 1967, making them Motown's top act. Tensions grew as Ross dominated interviews and pushed for higher pay. Gordy fired Ballard in 1967 and renamed the act Diana Ross and the Supremes, which let him charge more for a star plus backing group. Ross's last show with them was in Las Vegas on January 14, 1970.
On her own, she first topped the Hot 100 with a new arrangement of Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Playing Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues in 1972 earned her an Oscar nomination for a debut performance, a first for an African-American actress. She has sold over 100 million records as a solo artist.
Source: Diana Ross
