Stephanie Mills Net Worth

What Is Stephanie Mills' Net Worth?

Stephanie Mills is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and Broadway performer who has a net worth of $3 million.

Stephanie Mills first became nationally known for originating the role of Dorothy in the Broadway musical "The Wiz," where her performance of "Home" became one of the defining songs of her career. She subsequently established herself as one of the most successful R&B singers of the late 1970s and 1980s, recording hits including "Never Knew Love Like This Before," "What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'," "Sweet Sensation," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush on Me," and "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)." "Never Knew Love Like This Before" earned Mills the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Over the course of her recording career, Mills released more than a dozen studio albums and scored five #1 hits on the R&B chart. She later became an independent recording artist and continued performing extensively on the concert circuit. Mills also returned periodically to acting and musical theater, appearing in NBC's "The Wiz Live!" and the Lifetime movie "Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story." Decades after first becoming a Broadway star, she returned to Broadway as Hermes in "Hadestown."

Early Life

Stephanie Dorthea Mills was born on March 22, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York. She began singing gospel music as a child at Cornerstone Baptist Church and demonstrated considerable performing talent at an early age. Mills made her Broadway debut as a child in the musical "Maggie Flynn" and won Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater several weeks in a row.

Her breakthrough came as a teenager when she was cast as Dorothy in the original Broadway production of "The Wiz." The musical opened on Broadway in 1975 and became a major hit, while Mills' rendition of "Home" became closely associated with her throughout the rest of her career.

Recording Career

After early recording deals with Paramount and Motown failed to produce major commercial success, Mills signed with 20th Century Fox Records and broke through with the 1979 album "What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'." She followed it with "Sweet Sensation" in 1980, which included "Never Knew Love Like This Before." The song crossed over from the R&B charts to become a major pop hit and won Mills a Grammy.

During the 1980s, she continued recording for labels including Casablanca and MCA. Her run of R&B chart-toppers included "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "I Feel Good All Over," "(You're Puttin') A Rush on Me," "Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)," and a new recording of "Home."

Mills eventually moved away from the major-label system and began releasing music independently through her own JM Records. She has continued performing concerts and touring well beyond the peak of her recording career, including major multi-artist shows and tours alongside fellow R&B legends Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight.

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Acting and Broadway Return

Mills returned to "The Wiz" in later stage productions and appeared as Aunt Em in NBC's 2015 production of "The Wiz Live!" She continued making occasional screen appearances, including a role in the Lifetime film "Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story."

In 2024, Mills made a major return to Broadway when she joined "Hadestown" as Hermes. The role marked her first Broadway musical appearance in decades and brought her career full circle nearly half a century after "The Wiz" made her a theatrical star.

Personal Life

Mills has been married three times, to Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel, Dino Meminger, and Michael Saunders. She has one son, Farad. Mills has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for decades and has also devoted time to organizations and causes supporting people with special needs.

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