Biography
Who is Amii Stewart?
Early life and background
Amii Stewart was born Amy Paulette Stewart on January 29, 1956, in Washington, D.C. She grew up in a large, fun-loving family with five siblings. Her mother was one of thirteen children in her own family. Joseph Stewart II, her father, began her training in dance and singing in 1960 when she was four years old.
To join the Actors' Equity Association, she changed the spelling of her first name to Amii. While she briefly attended Howard University, she chose to leave and study ballet and modern dance at the Classical Repertory Dance Ensemble. This early training helped shape her professional path in the performing arts.
How Amii became famous
Before her major solo success, she worked with the touring production of Bubbling Brown Sugar. This role took her to Miami, New York City, and London. In London, she met the producer and songwriter Barry Leng. Their collaboration led to her first recording, You Really Touched My Heart, which arrived in late 1977.
Her breakthrough came in 1979 with a disco version of the Eddie Floyd song Knock on Wood. The track reached the top of the U.S. Billboard charts in April of that year. This success earned her a platinum record and a Grammy Award nomination. The single also performed well in Europe and Australia, reaching number six in the United Kingdom.
Career highlights and stage work
Amii Stewart has maintained a diverse career in music and theater. In 2000, she performed as Mary Magdalene in an Italian revival of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. She also released the studio album Lady Day in 2004. This project featured sixteen recordings from a musical about the life of Billie Holiday.
In 2014, she participated in the Rai TV show La Pista. She served as the leader of the Virality dance group and won the competition. Since the mid-1980s, she has lived in Rome and is fluent in Italian. She has also worked as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef Italia since 2001, recording charity music with Ennio Morricone.
Birthday and age
Amii Stewart was born on January 29, 1956, which makes Amii 70 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aquarius sign. Amii shares the date with 54 other famous people.
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