Editing Gloria Gaynor

{{Short description|American singer (born 1943)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Gloria Gaynor
| background        = solo_singer
| image             = Gloria Gaynor in 2014 (cropped).jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Gaynor in 2014
| birth_name        = Gloria Fowles
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1943|09|07}}
| birth_place       = [[Newark, New Jersey]], U.S.
| occupation        = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|actress}}
| years_active      = 1965–present
| spouse            = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Linwood Simon|1979|2005|reason=div}}}}
| module            = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed             = yes
| discography       = [[Gloria Gaynor discography]]
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]|[[Soul music|soul]]|[[disco]]|[[post-disco]]}}
| instrument        = Vocals
| label             = {{hlist|Jocida|[[MGM Records|MGM]]|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]|Stylus|Hot Productions|Logic|[[Radikal Records|Radikal]]}}
| website           = {{URL|gloriagaynor.com}}
}}
}}
'''Gloria Fowles''' (born September 7, 1943),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.npshpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/NewarkPublicSchools.pdf|title=Newark Public Schools Historical Preservation Committee}}</ref><ref>Betts, Stephen L. (June 14, 2019) [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/glorida-gaynor-i-will-survive-gospel-testimony-848340/ "Gloria Gaynor Preaches Survival on Inspiring New Gospel Album"] ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>Maye, Warren L. (2019). [https://saconnects.org/you-will-survive/ "You Will Survive"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625123427/https://saconnects.org/you-will-survive/ |date=June 25, 2021 }}. ''SAConnects''. Retrieved March 24, 2020.</ref> known professionally as '''Gloria Gaynor''', is an American singer, best known for the [[disco]] era hits "[[I Will Survive]]" (1978), "[[I Have a Right|Let Me Know (I Have a Right)]]" (1979), "[[I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)|I Am What I Am]]" (1983), and her version of "[[Never Can Say Goodbye]]" (1974).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaynor |first1=Gloria |title=I Will Survive: The Boo |date=April 10, 2000 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=0312300123 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gaynor|first=Gloria|title=I Will Survive: The Book|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|year=2000|isbn=0312300123|location=Unknown}}</ref>

==Early life==
Gloria Fowles was born in [[Newark, New Jersey]],<ref name="rosenfeld">{{cite news|last=Rosenfeld|first=Stacey|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/497909018|title=Gaynor recalls how she 'survived' her lifestyle|date=March 16, 2012|work=Cliffside Park Citizen|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref> to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor. Her grandmother lived nearby and was involved in her upbringing.<ref>{{cite web|last=Blanz|first=Sharla|url=http://njmonthly.com/articles/best-of-Jersey/survivor.html|title="I Will Survive" singer Gloria Gaynor graduated from Southside High School in Newark|publisher=Njmonthly.com 1961|date=December 19, 2007|access-date=December 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702164451/http://njmonthly.com/articles/best-of-Jersey/survivor.html|archive-date=July 2, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> "There was always music in our house", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography ''I Will Survive''. She enjoyed listening to the radio, and to records by [[Nat King Cole]] and [[Sarah Vaughan]]. Her father played the [[ukulele]] and guitar and sang professionally in nightclubs with a group called Step 'n' Fetchit. Gloria grew up as a [[tomboy]]; she had five brothers and one sister. Her brothers sang [[gospel music|gospel]] and formed a quartet with a friend.

Gaynor was not allowed to sing with the all-male group, nor was her younger brother Arthur, as Gloria was a girl and Arthur was too young. Arthur later acted as a tour manager for Gaynor. The family was relatively poor, but Gaynor recalls the house being filled with laughter and happiness, and the dinner table being open to neighborhood friends. They moved to a [[housing project]] in 1960, where Gaynor attended [[Malcolm X Shabazz High School|South Side High School]]; she graduated in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdm17229.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17229coll68/id/21605|title=South Side High School Yearbook - Page 43|website=cdm17229.contentdm.oclc.org|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801082034/https://cdm17229.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17229coll68/id/21605|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Shapiro, Michael M. [https://www.tapinto.net/sections/region/articles/essex-county-executive-divincenzo-and-newark-coun "Essex County Executive DiVincenzo and Newark Council President Crump Welcome Gloria Gaynor Home to Essex County"], TAPinto.net, August 24, 2020. Accessed May 8, 2020. "Gloria Gaynor was born at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, graduated from South Side High School (now known as Shabazz) in 1961 and often attended Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark with her family."</ref>

"All through my young life I wanted to sing, although nobody in my family knew it", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Gaynor|first=Gloria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjauAgAAQBAJ&q=%22All+through+my+young+life+I+wanted+to+sing%2C+although+nobody+in+my+family+knew+it%22&pg=PT40|title=I Will Survive: The Book|date=2014|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4668-6595-2|language=en}}</ref> Gaynor began singing in a nightclub in Newark, where she was recommended to a local band by a neighbor. After several years of performing in local clubs and along the East Coast, Gaynor began her recording career in 1971 at [[Columbia Records]].<ref name=":0" />

== Music career ==
===Early years===
Gaynor was a singer with The Soul Satisfiers, a [[jazz]] and [[Rhythm and Blues|R&B]] music band of the 1960s. She recorded "She'll Be Sorry" as Gloria Gaynor in 1965, for [[Johnny Nash]]'s "Jocida" label.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NykEAAAAMBAJ&q=gloria+gaynor+jocida&pg=PA17|title=Jocinda Advertisement|magazine=Billboard|date=November 27, 1965|language=en}}</ref> Her first real success came in 1973 when she was signed to [[Columbia Records]] by [[Clive Davis]]. The fruit of that was the release of the single "Honey Bee".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-29-ca-5895-story.html|title='I Will Survive' Is More Than a Song for Gloria Gaynor|date=December 29, 2000|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref>

Moving on to [[MGM Records]] she finally hit with the album ''[[Never Can Say Goodbye (Gloria Gaynor album)|Never Can Say Goodbye]]'', released in 1975. The first side of the album consisted of three songs ("Honey Bee", "[[Never Can Say Goodbye]]", and "[[Reach Out I'll Be There|Reach Out, I'll Be There]]"), with no break between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits and all of them became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, "Never Can Say Goodbye" becoming the first song to top ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine's [[Hot Dance Music/Club Play|dance chart]]. It was also a hit on the mainstream [[Billboard Hot 100|Pop Charts]], peaking at No. 9, and on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B Charts]], reaching No. 34 (the original version by [[The Jackson 5]] had been a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 in 1971). It also marked her first significant chart success internationally, making it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK. The song would go on to be certified silver by the [[British Phonographic Industry]], and subsequently gold in the US.

Capitalizing on the success of her first album, Gaynor quickly released her follow-up, ''[[Experience Gloria Gaynor]]'', later that same year. Some of her lesser-known singles, due to lack of recurrent airplay—including "Honey Bee" (1974), "Casanova Brown" (1975), and "Let's Make a Deal" (1976), as well as her cover of the [[Four Tops]]' "Reach Out, I'll Be There"—became hits in nightclubs and reached the Top 5 on ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]''{{'}}s disco charts. Many charted on the Hot 100 and R&B charts as well, with songs like "(If You Want It) Do It Yourself"—a No. 1 disco hit—peaking at No. 98 on the Pop Charts and No. 24 on the R&B Charts. Gaynor's cover of "[[How High the Moon]]" topped the US Dance Charts, and made the lower parts of both the pop and R&B charts, as well as achieving some international chart success. She has recorded some 16 albums since her 1976 album ''[[I've Got You (album)|I've Got You]]'', including one in England, one in Germany, and two in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gloria Gaynor |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/gloria-gaynor |publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref>

===Major mainstream breakthrough===
[[File:Gloria Gaynor (1976).jpg|thumb|upright|Gaynor in 1976]]

During the next few years, Gaynor released two albums ''[[Glorious (Gloria Gaynor album)|Glorious]]'' and ''[[Gloria Gaynor's Park Avenue Sound]]'', but would only enjoy a few more moderate hits. However, in late 1978, with the release of her album ''[[Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album)|Love Tracks]]'', she climbed the pop charts again with her smash hit single "[[I Will Survive]]". The lyrics of this song were written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female [[Emancipation]]. Originally, "I Will Survive" was a [[B-side]] when [[Polydor Records]] released it in late 1978. The [[A-side]], a song called "[[Substitute (The Righteous Brothers song)|Substitute]]", then a recent worldwide hit for South African girl-group [[Clout (band)|Clout]], was considered more "radio friendly". Gaynor won a Grammy for “I Will Survive" at the [[22nd Annual Grammy Awards]], and also received nominations for [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance|Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]]. "I Will Survive" is ranked No. 492 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]", and ranked at No. 97 on [[Billboard magazine]]'s "All-Time Hot 100".

As a disco number, the song was unique for its time by virtue of Gaynor's having no background singers or lush production. And, unlike her first disco hits, the track was not pitched up to make it faster and to render Gaynor's recorded voice in a [[Vocal register|higher register]] than that in which she actually sang. In late 1979, she released the album ''[[I Have a Right]]'' which contained her next disco hit, "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)",  which featured [[Doc Severinsen]] of ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' fame, playing a trumpet solo. Gaynor also recorded a disco song called "Love Is Just a Heartbeat Away" in 1979 for the cult vampire film ''[[Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula]]'', which featured a number of disco songs.

===Stateside career===
In 1980 and again in 1981, Gaynor released two disco albums which were virtually ignored in the United States due to the [[Disco#1979–1981: Controversy and decline in popularity|backlash against disco]], which began late in 1979. The album's singles barely registered on [[urban contemporary]] radio, where disco music remained popular. In 1982, having looked into a wide variety of faiths and religious movements,<ref>{{cite news| last = Daneff  | first = Tiffany| title = The Arts: The new gospel according to Gloria She survives, and prospers, but the queen of the disco has done with clubbing, writes Tiffany Daneff  | work = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | date = July 17, 1993 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last = Quigley | first = Elizabeth  | title = Disco's born survivor  | work = [[The Scotsman]] | date = April 9, 1996 }}</ref> she became a [[Christians|Christian]] and began to distance herself from a past she considered to be [[sin]]ful. That same year, she released an album of mid-tempo R&B and pop-style songs entitled ''[[Gloria Gaynor (Gloria Gaynor album)|Gloria Gaynor]]''.

Gaynor would achieve her final success in the 1980s with the release of her album ''[[I Am Gloria Gaynor]]'' in 1984. This was mainly due to the song "[[I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)|I Am What I Am]]", which became a hit at dance clubs, and then on the [[Club Play]] chart in late 1983/early 1984. "[[I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)#Gloria Gaynor version|I Am What I Am]]" became a [[gay anthem]] and made Gaynor a [[gay icon]]. Her 1986 album, ''[[The Power of Gloria Gaynor]]'', was almost entirely composed of cover versions of other songs that were popular at the time.

===Career revival===
Gaynor's career received a revitalizing spark in the early- and mid-1990s with the worldwide disco revival movement. During the late 1990s, she dabbled in acting for a while, guest-starring on ''[[The Wayans Bros]]'', ''[[That '70s Show]]'' (singing "I Will Survive"), and ''[[Ally McBeal]],'' before doing a limited engagement performance in [[Broadway theatre|Broadway's]] ''[[Smokey Joe's Cafe (revue)|Smokey Joe's Cafe]]''. In 2001, Gaynor performed "I Will Survive" at the [[Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration|30th Anniversary concert]] for [[Michael Jackson]].

Gaynor returned to the recording studio in 2002, releasing her first album in over 15 years, ''[[I Wish You Love (Gloria Gaynor album)|I Wish You Love]]''. The two singles released from the album, "Just Keep Thinking About You" and "I Never Knew", both topped ''Billboard''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Hot Dance Music/Club Play]]. Both singles also secured moderate to heavy dance format radio airplay. The latter song also charted No. 30 on ''Billboard''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart. In 2004, Gaynor re-released her 1997 album ''[[The Answer (Gloria Gaynor album)|The Answer]]'' (also released under the title ''What a Life'') as a follow-up to her successful album ''I Wish You Love''. The album includes her club hit "Oh, What a Life".

In late 2002, Gaynor appeared with R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the [[PBS]] series ''American Soundtrack''. Her performance of the disco hit "I Will Survive" and new single "I Never Knew" was included on the accompanying live album that was released in 2004.

On September 19, 2005, Gaynor was honored twice when she and her music were inducted into the [[Dance Music Hall of Fame]], in the "Artist" category, along with fellow disco artists [[Chic (band)|Chic]] and [[Sylvester (singer)|Sylvester]]. Her classic anthem "I Will Survive" was inducted under the "Records" category. In January 2008, the [[American Diabetes Association]] named Gaynor the Honorary Spokesperson of the 2008 "NYC Step Out to Fight Diabetes Walk".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stepout.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/StepOut080058010?pg=entry&fr_id=5415|title=Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes: New York City, NY|work=diabetes.org|access-date=September 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012043711/http://stepout.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/StepOut080058010?pg=entry&fr_id=5415|archive-date=October 12, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

More television appearances followed in the late 2000s with 2009 appearances on ''[[The John Kerwin Show]]'', ''[[The Wendy Williams Show]]'',<ref>{{Citation|last=DJBigBlender|title=Disco Star Gloria Gaynor on the Wendy Williams show (October 2009)|date=November 7, 2016|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXg3Ne4aTyI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/sXg3Ne4aTyI| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|access-date=November 7, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]'' to promote the 30th anniversary of "I Will Survive".<ref>{{YouTube|y6t5LV-1rMo}}{{dead link|date=May 2012}}</ref> In 2010, she appeared on ''[[Last Comic Standing]]'' and ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]''. Gaynor released a [[Contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]] album in late 2013.

Forty years after its release, Gaynor continues to ride the success of "I Will Survive", touring the country and the world over and performing her signature song on dozens of TV shows. A few successful remixes of the song during the 1990s and 2000s along with new versions of the song by [[Lonnie Gordon]], [[Diana Ross]], [[Chantay Savage]], rock group [[Cake (band)|Cake]] and others, as well as constant recurrent airplay on nearly all [[soft AC]] and rhythmic format radio stations have helped to keep the song in the mainstream. Gaynor said of her biggest hit in a 2012 interview: "It feels great to have such a song like that because I get kids five and six years old telling me they like the song, and then people seventy-five and eighty. It's quite an honor."<ref name="Ask American Profile Page 2">Ask American Profile. Published in ''American Profile'' newsmagazine. January 29, 2012 edition. Page 2.</ref> The song was revived yet again in 2015 for the film ''[[The Martian (film)|The Martian]]'', where it is used at the end as the credits roll.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Martian|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd|website=IMDb|access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref>

[[file:GLORIA GAYNOR - SUMMER 2012 (8317897865).jpg|thumb|Gaynor performing in 2012]]
On May 16, 2015, Gaynor was awarded the honorary degree of [[Doctor of Music]] by [[Dowling College]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dowling.edu/commencement/gloria-gaynor/|title=Gloria Gaynor|work=Dowling College|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404002504/http://www.dowling.edu/commencement/gloria-gaynor/|archive-date=April 4, 2015}}</ref> In 2017, she made a [[cameo appearance]] as a flight attendant in a [[Capital One]] commercial, while [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Charles Barkley]], and [[Spike Lee]] sang "I Will Survive".

In 2016, "I Will Survive" was selected for induction into the [[Library of Congress]]' [[National Recording Registry]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-16-056/national-recording-registry-recognizes-mack-the-knife-motown-and-mahler/2016-03-23/|title=National Recording Registry Recognizes "Mack the Knife," Motown and Mahler|website=Loc.gov|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref>

On May 6, 2017, Gaynor performed with her band at the Library of Congress' celebration of disco music at Bibliodiscotheque, a disco dance party in the Great Hall of the [[Thomas Jefferson Building]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/concerts/disco/|title=Library of Congress Bibliodiscotheque, April 12 - May 6, 2017 (Concerts from the Library of Congress, 2016-2017)|website=Loc.gov|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref>

Due to the devastation wreaked by [[Hurricane Harvey]] on the state of Texas in August 2017, Gaynor rewrote the lyrics to "I Will Survive", changing the title to "Texas Will Survive", and posted a video of herself singing the song on [[Twitter]] on August 30, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas-will-survive-gloria-gaynor-rewrites-hit-song-to-support-texans/269-469432371|title='Texas Will Survive': Gloria Gaynor rewrites hit song to support Texans|website=KVUE|date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=November 25, 2019}}</ref>

In December 2019, "I Will Survive" trended on [[TikTok]] and Gaynor performed the dance<ref>{{Cite web |title=The great @gloriagaynor paid a visit to our studio today to chat her... |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@lifeminutetv/video/6771958244643523845 |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=TikTok |language=en}}</ref> at the LifeMinute TV<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gloria Gaynor on Everything from New Gospel Album, Testimony, to Her TikTok Takeover |url=https://lifeminute.tv/music/video/gloria-gaynor-everything-new-gospel-album-testimony-her-tiktok-takeover |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=lifeminute.tv |language=en}}</ref> studios in [[Times Square|Times Square, NY]].

In January 2020, she won her second Grammy Award in her career, 40 years after her first, for her roots gospel album ''[[Testimony (Gloria Gaynor album)|Testimony]]'', winning [[Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album|Best Roots Gospel Album]] at the [[62nd Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-nominations-complete-winners-list|title=2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners & Nominations List|access-date=March 17, 2021}}</ref>

In 2021, Gaynor returned to disco music when she recorded "Can't Stop Writing Songs About You" with Australian singer [[Kylie Minogue]] for the reissue of Minogue's fifteenth studio album ''[[Disco (Kylie Minogue album)|Disco]]'' entitled ''Disco: Guest List Edition''.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://music.kylie.com/product/87062|title= Kylie DISCO: GUEST LIST EDITION (DELUXE LIMITED) [3 CD, 1 DVD, 1 BLU-RAY]|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> The collaboration occurred following Gaynor praising Minogue for keeping disco alive with her album of the same name.<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=gloriagaynor|number=1326739556343934979|title=Love you too sweetheart and bless you for keeping #Disco alive|first=Gloria|last=Gaynor|date=November 11, 2020|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref>

In April 2021, Gaynor recorded "Brand New" with the veteran Contemporary Christian band [[MercyMe]].<ref>{{Citation |title=inhale (exhale) by MercyMe |date=April 30, 2021 |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/inhale-exhale/1564805289 |language=en-US |access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

In 2022, Gaynor competed in [[The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 8|season eight]] of ''[[The Masked Singer (American TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'' as "Mermaid" who rode around on a giant clam-like vehicle that the Men in Black had to push around. After being eliminated on "[[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] Night" alongside [[Mario Cantone]] as "Maize", Gaynor did her encore performance of "I Will Survive".

On February 7, 2025, Gaynor released "Fida Known", the lead single to her upcoming EP "Happy Tears",<ref>{{Citation |title=Gloria Gaynor Reflects On The Past In Disco Kiss-Off Declaration “Fida Known” |date=February 7, 2025 |url=https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/gloria-gaynor-reflects-on-the-past-in-disco-kiss-off-declarationfida-known |language=en-US |access-date=April 27, 2025}}</ref> which is expected to be released on June 6, 2025.<ref>{{Citation |title=Gloria Gaynor's Survival Story Isn't Over |date=April 18, 2025 |url=https://www.papermag.com/gloria-gaynor-happy-tears |language=en-UK |access-date=April 27, 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Gaynor married her manager Linwood Simon in 1979. The couple divorced in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maslow |first1=Nick |title=Gloria Gaynor Is 'Back on Top' as She Releases Her First Gospel Album: This 'Is My Testimony' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/gloria-gaynor-back-top-she-212744127.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS91cmw_c2E9dCZyY3Q9aiZxPSZlc3JjPXMmc291cmNlPXdlYiZjZD0mdmVkPTJhaFVLRXdpVzhvUGN4NURzQWhWUS1hUUtIZG5NQVk4UUZqQVVlZ1FJQ0JBQiZ1cmw9aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cueWFob28uY29tJTJGZW50ZXJ0YWlubWVudCUyRmdsb3JpYS1nYXlub3ItYmFjay10b3Atc2hlLTIxMjc0NDEyNy5odG1sJnVzZz1BT3ZWYXczOVl3YldoaFY4bmdJd2U1RzI0Umwz&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALTT1wyrwbqK-X337BVCuUsvdImK67cpa6y0hUywS97kOtGf5Kj49fe3N-wf-fbOMDrQZ1dJWW3tX1066sm_kR-GbOju9HRGPF3KVQ0J1Xz6l2wGI5ywcy-i3q7VGys3mUMc4WN3J7JXLarxxSqKN506NObE1A7gkpk5DTs_Ej6m |website=Yahoo |publisher=People |access-date=July 7, 2019}}</ref> She has no children. According to Gaynor, while she always wanted children, her ex-husband never desired any.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gloria Gaynor 'The Holy Spirit grabbed me by the collar in 1985' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/06/gloria-gaynor-this-much-i-know |first=Michael |last=Segalov |website=The Guardian |date=July 6, 2019 |access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{Main|Gloria Gaynor discography}}
Albums:
{{Div col}}
*''[[Never Can Say Goodbye (Gloria Gaynor album)|Never Can Say Goodbye]]'' (1975)
*''[[Experience Gloria Gaynor]]'' (1975)
*''[[I've Got You (album)|I've Got You]]'' (1976)
*''[[Glorious (Gloria Gaynor album)|Glorious]]'' (1977)
*''[[Gloria Gaynor's Park Avenue Sound]]'' (1978)
*''[[Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album)|Love Tracks]]'' (1978)
*''[[I Have a Right]]'' (1979)
*''[[Stories (Gloria Gaynor album)|Stories]]'' (1980)
*''[[I Kinda Like Me]]'' (1981)
*''[[Gloria Gaynor (album)|Gloria Gaynor]]'' (1982)
*''[[I Am Gloria Gaynor]]'' (1984)
*''[[The Power of Gloria Gaynor]]'' (1986)
*''Gloria Gaynor '90'' (1990)
*''Love Affair'' (1992)
*''I'll Be There'' (1994)
*''[[The Answer (album)|The Answer]]'' (1997)
*''[[I Wish You Love (Gloria Gaynor album)|I Wish You Love]]'' (2003)
*''Christmas Presence'' (2007)
*''I Will Survive'' (2013)
*''[[Testimony (Gloria Gaynor album)|Testimony]]'' (2019)
{{Div col end}}

Extended Plays:
{{Div col}}
*''Happy Tears'' (2025)
{{Div col end}}

==Filmography==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1979
| ''Pinay, American Style''
| rowspan=2|Herself
|
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Gray Matters (2006 film)|Gray Matters]]''
|
|-
| 2022
| ''The Thursday Night Club''
| Dr. Poitier
|
|}

=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan=2|1979
| ''The Second City Comedy Show''
| rowspan=4|Herself
| TV special
|-
| ''[[Sha Na Na (TV series)|Sha Na Na]]''
| Episode: "3.6"
|-
| 1997
| ''[[The Wayans Bros.]]''
| Episode: "Pops' Last Hurrah"
|-
| 1998
| ''Starye Pesni O Glavnom 3''
| TV movie
|-
| 1999
| ''[[That 70's Show]]''
| Mrs. Clark
| Episode: "Prom Night"
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Ally McBeal]]''
| Herself
| Episode: "I Will Survive"
|-
| 2022
| ''[[The Masked Singer (American TV series)|The Masked Singer]]''
| Herself/Mermaid
| [[The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 8|2 episodes]]
|-
| 2024
| ''[[Mask Singer (French TV series)|Masked Singer France (Season 6)]]''
| Herself/Ice Queen
| [[Mask Singer (French TV series)|Guest]]
|}

==See also==
* [[List of artists who reached number one in the United States]]
* [[List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart]]
* [[List of best-selling singles]]
* [[List of Billboard number-one dance club songs|List of ''Billboard'' number-one dance club songs]]
* [[Lists of Billboard number-one singles|Lists of ''Billboard'' number-one singles]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website}} 
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{AllMusic artist}}

{{Gloria Gaynor}}
{{List of Festivalbar winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaynor, Gloria}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Actors from Bergen County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Actors from Somerset County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Actresses from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Age controversies]]
[[Category:African-American Christians]]
[[Category:African-American actresses]]
[[Category:American hi-NRG musicians]]
[[Category:American dance musicians]]
[[Category:American disco musicians]]
[[Category:American disco singers]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American house musicians]]
[[Category:American mezzo-sopranos]]
[[Category:American soul singers]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:American women in electronic music]]
[[Category:American women pop singers]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Malcolm X Shabazz High School alumni]]
[[Category:Singers from Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Green Brook Township, New Jersey]]