Yvonne Elliman (born Yvonne Marianne Elliman, December 29, 1951, Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American singer and actress. Her father was of Irish descent, and her mother shared Japanese and Chinese ancestries. She was born and raised in Honolulu, and graduated from President Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970.
Elliman's singing career began in 1969 in London where she performed as a vocalist at various bars and clubs. This led to a recording cont...
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Yvonne Elliman (born Yvonne Marianne Elliman, December 29, 1951, Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American singer and actress. Her father was of Irish descent, and her mother shared Japanese and Chinese ancestries. She was born and raised in Honolulu, and graduated from President Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970.
Elliman's singing career began in 1969 in London where she performed as a vocalist at various bars and clubs. This led to a recording contract and later, in Miami, a close association as a backing vocalist for Eric Clapton. She performed on many of his 1970s hits including "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Lay Down Sally". She sang the role of Mary Magdalene in the original album of Jesus Christ Superstar and in the subsequent Broadway and film version, and achieved her first hit single with the ballad "I Don't Know How to Love Him". The song was her first entry on the U.S. charts, peaking at #28 pop in 1971, although a cover version by Helen Reddy was a bigger hit. This performance led...
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