Maria Cole

Maria Cole[1] (née Hawkins; August 1, 1922 – July 10, 2012) was an American jazz singer and the wife of singer Nat King Cole; mother of the singer Natalie Cole.[2][3]

Maria Cole
Cole with her husband Nat, 1951
Background information
Birth nameMaria Hawkins
Born(1922-08-01)August 1, 1922
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJuly 10, 2012(2012-07-10) (aged 89)
Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
GenresJazz
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1936–55
LabelsCapitol
Associated acts

Early life

Cole was born in Boston and was the niece of Charlotte Hawkins Brown.[4][5] Her father Mingo Hawkins was a letter carrier. Her mother Carol died while giving birth to her sister.[6][7][8]

Five years after the death of Nat King Cole, Maria Cole bought a house in Tyringham, Massachusetts, known as South House, where she raised her five children, including singer Natalie Cole.[9]

Maria was married to writer Gary DeVore from 1969 until their divorce in 1978.

Career

She was a jazz singer who worked with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, under the name Marie Ellington. She met Nat "King" Cole while they were both singing at the Zanzibar club.[2][3]

Death

Cole died in a nursing home in Boca Raton, Florida on July 10, 2012, at the age of 89, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.[2]

Discography
  • A Girl They Call Maria (Kapp, 1954)
  • Maria Cole (Dot, 1960)
  • Love Is a Special Feeling (Capitol, 1966)

References
  1. "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
  2. Associated Press (July 11, 2012). "Widow of Nat 'King' Cole dies of cancer at 89". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  3. Gene Lees, Nat Hentoff (2004). You Can't Steal a Gift: Dizzy, Clark, Milt, and Nat. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 227–35.
  4. "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. June 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  5. Henry Louis Gates, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (2004). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780195160246.
  6. Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. 1992. p. 115. Retrieved July 13, 2012 – via Internet Archive. Maria Hawkins Ellington Boston.
  7. "Nat "King" Cole's Widow Maria Cole Visits Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum". News.ncdcr.gov. February 25, 1965. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  8. Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood. One World Ballantine Books. 2005. p. 327. Retrieved July 13, 2012 – via Internet Archive. Caro MINGO HAWKINS COLE.
  9. Rozhon, Tracie (July 24, 1994). "Habitats/Echoes of Nat (King) Cole; A Berkshire Estate with a Special Beat". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2019.


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