Ella Fitzgerald’s Most Iconic Beauty Moments
Ella Fitzgerald was a woman affectioned by many names: The “First Lady of Song”, “Queen of Jazz”, and “Lady Ella”. Rising to fame with the Chick Webb Orchestra, her voice was […] The post Ella Fitzgerald’s Most Iconic Beauty Moments appeared first on Essence.
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By India Espy-Jones ·Updated April 24, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Ella Fitzgerald was a woman affectioned by many names: The “First Lady of Song”, “Queen of Jazz”, and “Lady Ella”. Rising to fame with the Chick Webb Orchestra, her voice was an instrument heard all over the country, and especially throughout the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. While she passed 30 years ago at the age of 79 in her Beverly Hills home, her heavenly influence is still remembered even today. Just look at last year’s Met Gala which honored Black Dandyism, the iconic era her beauty defined.
At a Harlem night club in 1940, for example, her hair was parted into a pixie cut with slick finger waves. Thatsrc="https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-91140494-scaled.jpg" alt="Ella Fitzgerald’s Most Iconic Beauty Moments" width="400" height="499" />UNITED STATES – JANUARY 01:Photo of Ella FITZGERALD(Photo by William Gottlieb/Redferns)
CHICAGO – CIRCA 1940:Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald poses for a portrait circa 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Maurice Seymour/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996), Los Angeles, California, 1967. The portrait was used on the cover of Fitzgerald’s album ‘Brighten the Corner’. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
CIRCA 1959:Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald appears onstage with pop singer Frank Sinatra in the background in circa 1959. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) performs live on stage as part of the Newport Jazz Festival at Shea Stadium in New York on 3rd July 1973. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) performs live on stage during a concert performance at Annabel’s club in London in 1971. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
UNITED STATES – JULY 01:NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVALPhoto of Willis CONOVER and Ella FITZGERALD, being introduced by Willis Conover(Photo by Paul Hoeffler/Redferns)
UNSPECIFIED – JANUARY 01:Photo of Ella FITZGERALD; Posed portrait of Ella Fitzgerald(Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns)
Ella Fitzgerald (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996) in concert, 1964. She is being accompanied by Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. (Photo by Tony Evans/Getty Images)
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) performs live on stage during a concert performance circa 1980. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1945:Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald poses for a portrait circa 1945 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Anthony Bruno/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Harlem: Ella Fitzgerald in photo at Harlem night club.
Ella Fitzgerald singing in NBC Studios in Manhattan as a guest of the Dinah Shore Chevy Show in March 1959.
CENTURY CITY, CA – MARCH 21:Ella Fitzgerald attends 12th Annual Urban League Whitney Young Awards Dinner on March 21, 1985 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) TOPICS: beauty evolution Ella Fitzgerald
The post Ella Fitzgerald’s Most Iconic Beauty Moments appeared first on Essence.
