Yahoo Lifestyle Meet Gladys Knight's Fourth Husband, William McDowell
When discussing music royalty, no one compares to Gladys Knight, the Empress of Soul herself. The Grammy Hall of Famer has contributed so many timeless songs to soul, R&B, and gospel history, that it's hard to count her hits. She rose to fame as part of the Motown group Gladys Knight & the Pips, who are responsible for hits like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" and, of course, "Midnight Train to Georgia."
During her subsequent solo career, Knight recorded 11 studio albums, the latest of which came out in 2014. While she hasn't released new music recently, she has stayed busy singing the National Anthem at the 2019 Super Bowl, performing on the first season of The Masked Singer and continuing to perform at events like NBC's upcoming A Motown Christmas, which will air on Dec. 11.
🤩 📺 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter & get the scoop on the latest TV news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🤩🎥
While many of Knight's iconic hits came out during her Motown era, she has continued to write music, with many of her more recent songs co-written by her husband William McDowell. McDowell is Knight's fourth husband and the pair have been together for over two decades.
Here's everything you need to know about Gladys Knight's romantic past and her current husband William McDowell.
Who is Gladys Knight married to?
The "Midnight Train to Georgia" singer is married to William “Billy” McDowell. He's also a songwriter and has worked with Knight on several songs. They live in Fairview, North Carolina, near a community center named RHS Community Foundation, which they founded in 2014. McDowell is from Canton, North Carolina.
How did Gladys Knight meet her husband William McDowell?
The pair met in 2001 when he was a corporate consultant. After they dated for only three months, Knight and McDowell tied the knot in April 2001 and have been together ever since.
Related: Gladys Knight Reveals Her Favorite Song With the Pips
What does Gladys Knight's husband William McDowell do?
William McDowell is a songwriter and author, although he was previously a corporate consultant. He and Knight co-wrote the song "This Is Our Time," around 2001, the year they met and wed. Knight performed the song at the 2002 Winter Olympics during the opening ceremony, and it was featured on the Light Up the Land: 2002 Olympic Winter Games Album. McDowell also wrote a Christian book named The ONE: How to Grow and Thrive as a One While Feeding Your Soul and Impacting Others, which was released in 2021.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Is Gladys Knight still married?
Gladys Knight and William McDowell have been married for 23 years and are still going strong. When sharing her secret to living a healthy marriage, the "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" singer shared that she put trust in God first. “You have to always know that the Lord is going to make a way. We put him first,” Knight tells Closer in a 2022 interview. “If you’ve got a problem and don’t know how to do something, you have to look up. That’s how we get through.”
Do Gladys Knight and William McDowell have kids?
No, they don’t share any children together but McDowell has become a stepfather to Gladys’ three children from her previous spouses. Together the two also share 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren from previous relationships.
“When I’m home, I have a houseful of kids. And they’re all over William, my husband,” she shares with Closer. “He is all about the kids, and they just love him to death. They love him the best! And he’ll do anything to keep them on the right track.”
Who else has Gladys Knight married?
Knight has actually been married four times. Her previous three husbands were:
James Newman
Knight married her first husband James Newman in 1960 when they were both around 16 years old (yeesh). The two were high school sweethearts and shared one son, James "Jimmy" Gaston Newman III (1962 - 1999) and a daughter Kenya Maria Newman (61). Newman developed a drug addiction and left Knight and his children. After 12 years of marriage and 7 years of separation, Knight and Newman divorced in 1973.
Barry Hankerson
A year later, in 1974, the “I Hope You Dance” singer married Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson. They share a son in Shanga Ali Hankerson, who was born in 1976. They divorced in 1979 amid a nasty custody battle. Their son was later kidnapped and Knight spent over $1 million to secure his return.
Les Brown
In 1995, Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown, but the relationship didn’t last long and the couple was divorced by 1997. She then met McDowell four years later.
Related: Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight Have the Best Reaction to U.S. Open Mix-Up
