Della Reese is the stage name of American actress, singer, game show panelist in the 70s, one-time talk show hostess, and ordained minister with an estimated net worth of $3 million.

Born Delloreese Patricia on July 6, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, she began singing in church at the age of six and became an avid gospel singer. She toured with gospel great Mahalia Jackson at the age of thirteen. When she was 18, she formed the Meditation Singers and became the first performer to take gospel music to the casinos in Las Vegas.

Reese was also exposed to jazz music and was influenced by famous jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. In 1953, she signed a recording contract with Jubilee Records and has recorded six albums. Her first recordings included the songs In the Still of the Night, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm and Time After Time. She sold a total of 500,000 copies and the songs were included in the 1959 album And That Reminds Me. In the same year, she joined the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. She released the single "And That Reminds Me" in 1957.

Della Reese went on to sign with RCA Records in 1959 and released the single "Don’t You Know." It became a massive success and led to her fame, as well as continued recordings and tours in the 1960s. She earned a Grammy nomination for her album Della.

In the late 60s, Reese moved to film and television. She appeared on her own talk show for 197 episodes. She was also a guest star or co-star on television shows such as The Mod Squad, McCloud, Chico and the Man, The Love Boat and McGyver, to name a few. She became a household name for her co-starring role in Touched by an Angel. She starred in the theatrical release movie Harlem Nights along with Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Arsenio Hall.