Réjane Magloire known later professionally as Reggie Magloire (28 November 1964 – October 2023) was a Congolese–American singer, model, and actress.

Early life and acting career

Réjane Magloire was born in November 28, 1964 in

Likasi Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville (French language, French) and Jadotstad (Dutch language, Dutch)) is a Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in Haut-Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ...

Zaïre Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

(now known as the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

), but grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. She studied Western

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

with heavy emphasis on

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singing. Both her parents are Haitian. As an actress, Magloire had early exposure on television in commercials and went on to play Samantha, a member of the Short Circus, on the TV series ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. ...

'' from 1975 to the end of production in 1977 (she replaced Melanie Henderson).

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations continued airing reruns of ''The Electric Company'' through 1985. She was also featured in ''Wilma'', a 1977 made for TV

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about

Wilma Rudolph Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter who overcame polio as a child and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her succes ...

, as the young athlete, opposite

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

, in his very first film appearance.

Musical career

Magloire was a member of the 1980s band,

Indeep Indeep was a 1980s New York City, New York–based musical group, group that was best known for its song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life". Career The group was led by its songwriter-musician Michael Cleveland, and it was known for employing a ...

, which scored a charting success with their debut single, “ Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life”, for which she was one of the two lead singers.

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

later covered that single. She was a member of the

Technotronic Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert and best known for their 1989 single, " Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United ...

from 1991, both as a singer and producer, which was best known for their dance singles. Technotronic released their second studio album '' Body to Body'', which featured as their new main vocalist Reggie (Magloire under her new stage name). Reggie provided vocals for six tracks on the album. ''Body to Body'' was a top 40 hit album in three countries:

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

( Ö3 Austria),

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

), and 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(UK Albums OCC), where it peaked at 27 and charted for four weeks. The lead single from that LP, Move That Body, was sung by Magloire (as Reggie), and became a top 10 hit in several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Switzerland, but not the United States. Nonetheless, her singing was lauded by

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the British ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'', who described the track as a "girl rapped pop canterer".

Death

In March 2024, it was revealed that Magloire had died of a heart attack in October 2023 in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

References

External links

* 1964 births 2023 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo people of Haitian descent 20th-century Democratic Republic of the Congo women singers 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo women singers Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the United States English-language singers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo American people of Haitian descent American dance musicians American child actresses American mezzo-sopranos American television actresses EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers {{US-singer-stub