Dana Dawson (August 7, 1974 – August 10, 2010) was an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Early life and career

Dawson made her acting debut at the age of 7 in a national tour of ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''. She was an

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

of the character Mimi, in the national tour of ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' in 2000 and joined the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast in 2001. In an interview in ''The Patriot-News'' (

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

) Dawson said that she was given time to become secure in each of the two roles she understudied — Mimi and Joanne — before learning the other. (access to full article requires payment) (Full reprint of article at Dana Dawson's website) As a singer, Dawson released her first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1988 at the age of 14. The song "Ready To Follow You" was penned by French singer

Jacqueline Taïeb Jacqueline Taïeb (born 9 November 1948)
is a French singer and songwriter of Jewish Tu ...

and produced in France, and reached the Top 20 on the French single chart. Dawson then worked with French producers on her debut album, ''Paris New York And Me'', which includes her debut single and spawned four other singles which enjoyed success in France in the early 1990s, especially "

Romantic World "Romantic World" is a 1990 song recorded by American singer Dana Dawson. Written by Romano Musumarra and Porter Carroll, it was released in December 1990 as the lead single from the album ''Paris New York and Me'', on which it appears as the fir ...

" and "Tell Me Bonita" which both peaked at number 4 on the French single chart. ''Paris, New York and Me'' was also certified gold in France. In 1993, Dawson took a break of two years to give her career more international impact; even though she had a lot of success in France, her records were not really available in other countries. So Dawson signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

and was now musically based in the UK. Her second album, '' Black Butterfly'', was released in October 1995, and included three singles that made the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

: " 3 Is Family" reached number 9 in July 1995, "Got to Give Me Love" reached number 27 in October 1995, and "Show Me" reached number 28 in May 1996. (requires search on "Dana Dawson" to retrieve results) The album was available all over Europe and also in Japan. "3 is Family" was the major hit of the album and Dawson promoted it all over Europe. In 1996, she released the single "How I Wanna Be Loved" but it missed the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

in the UK Singles Chart. It was eventually included on a UK re-issue of the ''Black Butterfly'' album. In 1997, Dawson collaborated on the Dolce & Gabbana single "More, More, More", and provided the vocals on this dance

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the Andrea True Connection hit single. The Disney Channel show ''

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character, who navigates the personal and social issues of her te ...

'' featured her 2001 single, "Nice Life" which was only released as a single in France. Several multi-track "singles" of Dawson's music have been released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, including "3 Is Family", "Got to Give Me Love", and "How I Wanna Be Loved". Dawson's songs are included on many other albums, including

's ''Music of the Twentieth Century: 1980–1999'' and

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

's ''Best Dance Album 1995''; she also performed on the Michael W. Smith 1989 Gospel album ''I 2 Eye''.

Personal life

Dawson married the New York jazz artist and musician, Jason Curry, on July 7, 2007, in Hamilton, Bermuda. She died on August 10, 2010, of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

, at age 36.

Discography

Albums

*1991: ''Paris, New York and Me'' *1995: '' Black Butterfly'' (re-released in the UK in 1996 with one bonus track)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Dana 1974 births 2010 deaths American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer 21st-century American women