Natalie Cole was a nine-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, and daughter of the legendary performer Nat "King" Cole and the singer Maria Hawkins Cole. Natalie Cole is best known for the songs “Unforgettable,” “Inseparable” and “This Will Be.”
In 1992, she was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, for the PBS series Great Performances. Her episode was “Unforgettable, with Love: Natalie Cole Sings the Songs of Nat King Cole.”
Cole appeared on Great Performances several more times, including a benefit concert featuring Luciano Pavarotti, a tribute concert to Ella Fitzgerald and the series' 30th anniversary episode. She also made dozens of appearances on awards shows, talk shows and concert specials.
Cole also acted, and had small roles on the series I’ll Fly Away, Out All Night, Touched by an Angel, Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also starred in the telefilm Lily in Winter; and appeared in Abducted: A Father’s Love; Always Outnumbered, starring Laurence Fishburne; and Freak City, with Samantha Mathis, Marlee Matlin and Peter Sarsgaard. Additionally, she voiced a character in the animated film Cats Don’t Dance and appeared as a musical performer in the 2004 film De-Lovely.
Her music was also featured on television and in film, including the soundtracks for the movies Pretty Woman, The Parent Trap, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, A Cinderella Story, Bewitched, Must Love Dogs and Pitch Perfect 2.
In 1991, she recorded a jazz album, Unforgettable ... With Love, featuring covers of her father’s songs. The album sold 14 million copies, reached the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, and in 1992, won multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year and Producer of the Year.
In 2000, she appeared as herself in the biopic Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, based on her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder. She also served as the telefilm’s executive producer.
Cole died December 31, 2015, in Los Angeles. She was 65.
