Helen Reddy
Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 1941 – 29 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, songwriter, author, actress, and activist. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, to a show-business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the television program, Bandstand in 1966; her prize was a ticket to New York City and a record audition, which was unsuccessful. She pursued her international singing career by moving to Chicago, and subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles "One Way Ticket" and "I Believe in Music" in 1968 and 1970, respectively. The B-side of the latter single, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", reached number eight on the pop chart of Canadian magazine RPM. She was signed to Capitol Records a year later.
During the 1970s, Reddy enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed 15 singles on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the top 10 and three reached number one, including her signature hit "I Am Woman". She placed 25 songs on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart; 15 made the top 10 and eight reached number one, six consecutively. In 1974, at the inaugural American Music Awards, she won the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist. On television, she was the first Australian to host a one-hour weekly primetime variety show on an American network, along with specials that were seen in more than 40 countries.
Between the 1980s and 1990s, as her single "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" became her last to chart in the US, Reddy acted in musicals and recorded albums such as Center Stage before retiring from live performance in 2002. She returned to university in Australia, earned a degree, and practised as a clinical hypnotherapist and motivational speaker. In 2011, after singing "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" with her half-sister, Toni Lamond, for Lamond's birthday, Reddy decided to return to live performing.
Reddy's song "I Am Woman" played a significant role in popular culture, becoming an anthem for second-wave feminism. She came to be known as a "feminist poster girl" or a "feminist icon". In 2011, Billboard named her the number-28 adult contemporary artist of all time (number-9 woman). In 2013, the Chicago Tribune dubbed her the "Queen of '70s Pop".
Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Reddy, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 8.318 |
Birthday | 1941-10-25 |
Place of Birth | Melbourne, Australia |
Also Known As |
1977
Pete's Dragon
6.3/652
Pete, a young orphan, runs away to a Maine fishing town with his best friend a lovable, sometimes invisible dragon named Elliott! When they are taken...
Watch Now
Pete's Dragon
1974
Airport 1975
5.671/248
When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardess Nancy Pryor is forced to take over the controls....
Watch Now
Airport 1975
2010
The Perfect Host
6.364/405
Warwick Wilson is the consummate host. He carefully prepares for a dinner party, the table impeccably set and the duck perfectly timed for 8:30 p.m. J...
Watch Now
The Perfect Host
1995
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
8.5/4
Based on the first centenary of the largest exporter of films in the world, that is Hollywood, is the story told by its protagonists, actors and write...
Watch Now
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1973
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1973
9/1
The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt...
Watch Now
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1973
1975
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1975
0/0
The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt...
Watch Now
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1975
2007
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Flashback to 1974
0/0
Watch Now
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Flashback to 1974
2008
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest
7.369/103
With the Griffins stuck at home during a blackout, Peter tells the story of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope".
Watch Now
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest
2011
Paul Williams Still Alive
6.738/21
Filmmaker and longtime fan Stephen Kessler's portrait of the award-winning 1970s singer-songwriter-actor, who disappeared for much of the 1980s and '9...
Watch Now
Paul Williams Still Alive
2021
Senior Entourage
2/1
Senior Entourage is a wild, wacky "Mockumentary" comedy featuring a zany, multi-racial cast ranging in age from 9 to 90. It's "Seinfeld for seniors" s...
Watch Now
Senior Entourage
2010
Kenny Rogers and Friends
0/0
Watch Now
Kenny Rogers and Friends
1978
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4.4/49
A small town band makes it big, but loses track of their roots, as they get caught up into the big-time machinations of the music biz. Now, they must...
Watch Now
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1991
Voices That Care
8/2
Behind the scenes making of the charity single "Voices That Care".
Watch Now
Voices That Care
1982
I Love Liberty
0/0
An all-star variety special saluting America.
Watch Now
I Love Liberty
1974
Accomplished Women
0/0
This film features six prominent women successful in a variety of fields: Katharine Graham, president of the Washington Post Company; Dr. Virginia Apg...
Watch Now
Accomplished Women
1977
Neil Diamond : Live At the Greek Theatre 1976
0/0
Neil Diamond gives a powerful and memorable performance at the packed Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in 1976, perhaps one of Neil’s great years. The sho...
Watch Now