48: The Self-Empowered Woman: Sade

Dear Followers,

Today's amazing woman is the recording artist Sade, born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her father (Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in Economics) and her mother (Anne Hayes, an English nurse) met in London, moved to Nigeria, and separated when Sade was four years old (1: No Paternal Safety Net).

Sade and her older brother moved to England, and lived with their maternal grandparents and their mother. While in college (London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design), Sade sang backup vocals with a soul band named Pride. She signed her first record deal with Epic Records in 1983, and her 1984 debut album "Diamond Life" sold over 50 million albums.

This month, after a decade-long hiatus (5: Life Is Not a Popularity Contest), her tenth album "Soldier of Love" has just been released. Even though she has been out of the public eye for almost ten years, pre-order sales placed her new release at #2 on Amazon's sales chart.

Sade was married to Spanish film director Carlos Pliego until 1995, and her affair the following year (15: Forget About Prince Charming) with a Jamaican musician produced a daughter, Ila Adu. Since 2005, she and Ian Watts have lived together in the rural west country (Gloucestershire) of England.

During her 2002 tour, Sade's daughter travelled with the band, and she would put her daughter to bed each night before the concert began (16: Intensive Motherhood). These days, Sade's daughter (Ila, 13) can be heard as a backup singer on the song "Babyfather."

Sade's quarter of a century career (7: Magnificent Obsession) has allowed her to become the most successful solo female artist in British history!

Looking forward to your comments...