How much is Anita Baker worth?
| Net Worth: | $85 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | January 26, 1958 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.49 m |
About Anita Baker
Anita Denise Baker was born on January 26, 1958 and is an American singer-songwriter with an estimated net worth of $85 million.While born in Ohio, she was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Her birth mother was only 16 years old when Anita was born, and abandoned her, leaving her in the care of a woman who has been variously described as a friend and as a relative. The woman, Mary Lewis, became Anita’s foster mother and growing up, Anita’s family made religion and hard work their motif.
At age 12, Anita had already been singing in her church choir. When she was 13, her foster mother died and an older sister in her adoptive family revealed to her the truth about her past. This older adoptive sister, Lois Landry, raised Anita from then on. At 16 years old, Anita successfully auditioned for the group Chapter 8, having been approached by bass player David Washington, and spent the next few years playing in and around Detroit, eventually signing with the Ariola label. The group released their first and only album in 1979.
When the Los Angeles-based Ariola label was bought out by Arista Records, Chapter 8’s contract was not renewed and Anita returned to Detroit, becoming a receptionist at a law firm. In 1982, she was coaxed back into the music business by a former Ariola executive who had started an independent label called Beverly Glen Music. Anita again relocated to Los Angeles and recorded her first solo album, The Songstress, which was released in 1983. The R&B;/Jazz release was a modest hit at the time, but over a number of years, eventually sold a total of about 300,000 copies. It reached No. 12 on the R&B; albums chart, mostly due to the hit single “Angel.” Anita left the Beverly Glen label in 1984 to sign with Elektra Records, and it was during her decade with Elektra that she became a household name.
From the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, Anita released four albums, all of which generated multiple hit singles, including “Sweet Love” and “Caught Up in the Rapture” from her 1986 sophomore album, Rapture; the title track from her 1988 album, Giving You the Best That I Got; and “I Apologize,” from the Rhythm of Love album in 1994. After this, she went on a 10-year hiatus between albums in order to focus on raising her two sons. In March 2004, she signed a recording deal with Blue Note Records. Her first album under the contract, My Everything, was released in September 2004. As of 2012, she is still signed to Blue Note, with an album titled Only Forever expected to be released in October. The lead single is “Lately,” a remake of a late-’90s song by singer-actor Tyrese Gibson.
By 2017, Baker had already won eight Grammy Awards and had five Platinum albums and one Gold album. In January 2017, Baker confirmed she had retired, yet she emerged from retirement one year later in 2018.
As of 2023, Anita Baker’s net worth is estimated to be $85 million.
