BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Suzette Charles
Suzette Charles
Suzette Charles performing in 1985
Born
Suzette DeGaetano
March 2, 1963 (age 53)
Mays Landing, New Jersey, United States
Nationality
American
Ethnicity
West Indian/Italian American
Citizenship
American
Education
Temple University
Occupation
Singer and actress
Years active
1983-present
Home town
Mays Landing, New Jersey
Title
Miss New Jersey 1983
First runner-up in the Miss America 1984 pageant
Miss America 1984 B
Predecessor
Vanessa L. Williams
Successor
Sharlene Wells
Board member of
Endowment of the Arts
Spouse(s)
Leonard Bley
Children
2
Parent(s)
Charles DeGaetano (father)
Suzette Burroughs DeGaetano (mother)
Suzette Charles (born Suzette DeGaetano, March 2, 1963) is an American singer, entertainer, and actress. She was Miss New Jersey in 1983, and served as Miss America 1984 for seven weeks after Vanessa L. Williams resigned from the position in July 1984.
Contents
1Early life
2Miss America 1984
3Career
4Personal life
Early life
Charles was born and raised in Mays Landing, New Jersey. The only child of an interracial family, her father, Charles DeGaetano, is of Italian descent,[1] while her mother (also named Suzette and a former a professional singer and music teacher) is of a West Indianheritage.[2][3] A Presidential Scholar her senior year, she graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in 1981, and won a full scholarship to Temple University, becoming a performing arts major.[3]
Miss America 1984
Charles, as Miss New Jersey, competed in the Miss America 1984 pageant held in Atlantic City on September 17, 1983. Earlier in the week, she had won a Preliminary Talent Award for her performance of Kiss Me in the Rain.[4][5] She also finished as first runner-up.[6][5] After the reigning Miss America, Vanessa L. Williams, resigned that July, Charles replaced her for the remaining seven weeks.[7][3] The Miss America Organization later qualified her title as Miss America 1984B.[8]
At the Miss America 2016 pageant, current CEO, Sam Haskell, issued an apology to Williams for "the events of 1984."[9] Charles later commented on Inside Edition that she was perplexed by the apology, suggesting that it was given for the purpose of ratings.[10]
Career
Charles, who already had many credits in advertising and educational television, has gone on to a career as a singer, entertainer, and television personality. She has acted on the ABC soap opera Loving, CBS television series Frank's Place and performed on This Morning, a British talk show. She hosted a show on Bravo called Arts-Break. She narrated the motion picture, Beyond The Dream, and has appeared on stage singing with Stevie Wonder, Alan King, Joel Grey, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby and Frank Sinatra.
In 1993, Charles was signed to RCA Records and recorded with top British producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, releasing her debut single, "Free To Love Again", in August of that year. The single peaked at #58 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] Other songs she recorded with Stock and Waterman included "After You're Gone", "Don't Stop (All The Love You Can Give)", "Every Time We Touch", "What The Eye Don't See" and "Just For A Minute". Her producers have included Waterman and David Foster who also signed her on his 143 Label. In the late 1980s, Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Management represented her on Capitol Records as well.
Personal life
Charles has been a resident of Mays Landing, New Jersey.[12] She has also lived in Brookville, Long Island.[13] She is married to ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon, Dr. Leonard Bley and is the mother of two children.[14][5]
Suzette Charles
Suzette Charles performing in 1985
Born
Suzette DeGaetano
March 2, 1963 (age 53)
Mays Landing, New Jersey, United States
Nationality
American
Ethnicity
West Indian/Italian American
Citizenship
American
Education
Temple University
Occupation
Singer and actress
Years active
1983-present
Home town
Mays Landing, New Jersey
Title
Miss New Jersey 1983
First runner-up in the Miss America 1984 pageant
Miss America 1984 B
Predecessor
Vanessa L. Williams
Successor
Sharlene Wells
Board member of
Endowment of the Arts
Spouse(s)
Leonard Bley
Children
2
Parent(s)
Charles DeGaetano (father)
Suzette Burroughs DeGaetano (mother)
Suzette Charles (born Suzette DeGaetano, March 2, 1963) is an American singer, entertainer, and actress. She was Miss New Jersey in 1983, and served as Miss America 1984 for seven weeks after Vanessa L. Williams resigned from the position in July 1984.
Contents
1Early life
2Miss America 1984
3Career
4Personal life
Early life
Charles was born and raised in Mays Landing, New Jersey. The only child of an interracial family, her father, Charles DeGaetano, is of Italian descent,[1] while her mother (also named Suzette and a former a professional singer and music teacher) is of a West Indianheritage.[2][3] A Presidential Scholar her senior year, she graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in 1981, and won a full scholarship to Temple University, becoming a performing arts major.[3]
Miss America 1984
Charles, as Miss New Jersey, competed in the Miss America 1984 pageant held in Atlantic City on September 17, 1983. Earlier in the week, she had won a Preliminary Talent Award for her performance of Kiss Me in the Rain.[4][5] She also finished as first runner-up.[6][5] After the reigning Miss America, Vanessa L. Williams, resigned that July, Charles replaced her for the remaining seven weeks.[7][3] The Miss America Organization later qualified her title as Miss America 1984B.[8]
At the Miss America 2016 pageant, current CEO, Sam Haskell, issued an apology to Williams for "the events of 1984."[9] Charles later commented on Inside Edition that she was perplexed by the apology, suggesting that it was given for the purpose of ratings.[10]
Career
Charles, who already had many credits in advertising and educational television, has gone on to a career as a singer, entertainer, and television personality. She has acted on the ABC soap opera Loving, CBS television series Frank's Place and performed on This Morning, a British talk show. She hosted a show on Bravo called Arts-Break. She narrated the motion picture, Beyond The Dream, and has appeared on stage singing with Stevie Wonder, Alan King, Joel Grey, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby and Frank Sinatra.
In 1993, Charles was signed to RCA Records and recorded with top British producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, releasing her debut single, "Free To Love Again", in August of that year. The single peaked at #58 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] Other songs she recorded with Stock and Waterman included "After You're Gone", "Don't Stop (All The Love You Can Give)", "Every Time We Touch", "What The Eye Don't See" and "Just For A Minute". Her producers have included Waterman and David Foster who also signed her on his 143 Label. In the late 1980s, Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Management represented her on Capitol Records as well.
Personal life
Charles has been a resident of Mays Landing, New Jersey.[12] She has also lived in Brookville, Long Island.[13] She is married to ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon, Dr. Leonard Bley and is the mother of two children.[14][5]
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