Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a legendary American R&B/soul singer and actress. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most famous incarnation of which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest. Knight started to record solo material due to legal issues that forced her and The Pips to record separately.