Natalie Maria Cole (born Stephanie Natalie Maria Cole, February 6, 1950) is an influential American singer-songwriter and performer who has won ten Grammy Awards. She achieved success in her early career as an R&B star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more jazz oriented musical style in the early 1990s. Early life Natalie Maria Cole is the daughter of noted crooner Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Hawkins Ellington Cole. While Maria had sung with Ellington's band, Ellington is no relation to Duke Ellington. Cole was raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of Los Angeles, just a few doors down from the California governor.[LINK: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/24/sunday/main2036354.shtml] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/24/sunday/main2036354.shtml CBSnews.com Retrieved on 05-23-07 She has referred to her family as "the black Kennedys." She wa

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