Jackie Richardson

Jackie is an award-winning singer and actor whose career spans more than five decades. She has been called Canada’s reigning queen of jazz, blues and gospel, and has received a Maple Blues Award for lifetime achievement. She is also a Gemini Award and Dora Award-winning actor who has appeared in numerous musical theater productions, films and television series. In 2014, the Toronto Star named Richardson one of 180 people who have helped shape the city since it was founded. She was made an Honorary Member of the Order of Canada in 2021.

Richardson made her professional singing debut at age 16 when she joined the Toronto-based R&B group The Tiaras alongside her sister Betty. Richardson joined the group as a choreographer until her voice was strong enough to sing with the band. She went on to perform with an African group at Expo 67 in Montreal. She then briefly toured with a lineup of the American doo-wop group The Platters. She also became a regular performer at Canadian Forces Bases across Canada and around the world.

Throughout her career, Richardson has sung on a number of high-profile recordings, including: Joe Sealy’s Juno Award-winning album Africville Suite (1996); Anne Murray’s What a Wonderful World: 26 Inspirational Classics (1999); Norm Amadio’s Norm Amadio and Friends (2009); Peter Appleyard’s 2012 recording “Georgia”; David Clayton-Thomas’s “Freedom for the Stallion” (2015); and Micah Barnes’s “New York Story Duet” (2016). She has also collaborated with numerous acts on stage, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.