Anita Baker is an American contemporary jazz vocalist. She has appeared with artists such as The Winans, Howard Hewitt, and James Ingram and has toured on a limited basis. Over the course of her career, she has won several Grammy Awards including Best R&B Female Performance for the album Rapture and Best R&B Song for Sweet Love.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio Her album, Giving You The Best That I Got, won three.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio She was ranked #74 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock N Roll, and from 1978 to 1984, she was the lead singer of Chapter 8.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio

In 1988 Baker married Walter Bridgforth, Jr and had two children, Walter (1993) and Edward (1994).http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio She was divorced from Bridgforth in 2008. In 2010 Baker was threatened with jail time as a court process that would decide how much Walter Bridgforth was owed in music royalties as part of the couple's divorce settlement.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/26/entertainment/main6248690.shtml

In November 2010, she was honored at the 2010 Soul Train Awards on BET. The tribute to Baker included a medley of her greatest hits performed by such artists as Tamia, Dionne Farris, Faith Evans, El DeBarge, Lalah Hathaway, Chrisette Michele, Ken, and Goapele.http://thenewschronicle.com/anita-baker-ronald-isley-honored-2010-soul-train-awards/113009838/

Anita Baker's first encounter with the music business came in the late 1970s, when, as the singer for Chapter 8 band, she was signed to Ariola.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio When Ariola was purchased by Arista Records, the new label dropped the band and Baker. She worked as a receptionist in a law firm until returning to recording in 1983. Her debut album, The Songstress, resulted in three songs on the R&B charts.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio

Her first major-label release, Rapture, gave her a crossover hit with the song Sweet Love.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio Baker recorded and performed through the mid-1990s before taking a decade away from music to raise a family.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1179722/bio

• 1983: The Songstress
• 1986: Rapture
• 1988: Giving You the Best That I Got
• 1990: Compositions
• 1994: Rhythm of Love
• 2004: My Everything
• 2005: Christmas Fantasy