Della Beatrice Howard Robinson: Ray Charles’ Former Wife and Gospel Singer
A fact-checked profile of Della Bea Robinson’s gospel background, 22-year marriage, three sons, screen portrayal and newly announced film project.
Introduction
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson, also known as Della Bea Robinson, is a former gospel singer best known as the second wife of American musician Ray Charles. Their marriage began in 1955 and ended in divorce in 1977, covering most of the period in which Charles developed from a successful touring performer into an internationally recognised recording artist. The couple had three sons: Ray Charles Robinson Jr., David Robinson and Robert Robinson. Della’s eldest son later described his mother as a talented gospel singer whose voice originally attracted Charles and as a stabilising presence during years affected by touring, addiction, infidelity and public scrutiny.
Although numerous websites publish precise claims about Della’s birth, wealth and current whereabouts, much of that information lacks strong documentary support. A responsible biography must therefore distinguish her documented family and musical history from assumptions created by repeated online profiles.
Quick Answer
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson was Ray Charles’ second wife and the mother of three of his sons. She had a gospel-singing background before becoming publicly associated with Charles, remained married to him from 1955 until 1977 and was later portrayed by Kerry Washington in the 2004 film Ray.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Verified Information |
|---|
| Full Name | Della Beatrice Howard Robinson |
| Also Known As | Della Bea Robinson, Della B. Robinson |
| Public Role | Former gospel singer |
| Known For | Former wife of Ray Charles |
| Marriage | Ray Charles, 1955–1977 |
| Children with Ray Charles | Ray Charles Robinson Jr., David Robinson and Robert Robinson |
| Screen Portrayal | Kerry Washington in Ray |
| Latest Confirmed Development | The Della B. Robinson Story announced as a film in development in March 2026 |
| Current Public Status | Not reliably confirmed by a recent authoritative source |
Who Is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson occupies an important but frequently simplified place in Ray Charles’ history. She is commonly introduced only as his former wife, yet available family evidence establishes that she had her own connection to music. Ray Charles Robinson Jr.’s memoir, You Don’t Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles, describes Della as possessing an impressive gospel voice and says her singing was one of the qualities that first attracted his father. The book’s publisher also identifies Ray Jr. as the eldest son of Ray Charles and Della B. Robinson.
The surviving public record does not support a complete professional discography, a list of commercial releases or claims that she achieved mainstream chart success. It is therefore most accurate to describe her as a gospel singer with a recognised musical background, rather than presenting her as a major recording star whose career can be measured through albums, sales or awards.
Her Identity Beyond a Famous Marriage
Della’s association with Ray Charles inevitably dominates searches for her name, but it should not erase her independent identity. She understood gospel music through participation rather than simply through her husband’s work. That shared musical language appears to have been an important part of their original connection.
A March 2026 production announcement for a proposed film about her life described her as a gospel vocalist who toured with Cecil Shaw before stepping away from a developing career. Because this description came from the production company promoting the film, it should be attributed to the project rather than treated as an independently verified career history.
Della Robinson and Ray Charles’ Marriage
Della and Ray Charles married in 1955. Ray had previously been briefly married to Eileen Williams, making Della his second wife. Their marriage lasted until 1977 and covered approximately 22 years of major professional and personal change. Contemporary and retrospective reporting consistently identifies Della as the mother of three of Charles’ sons: Ray Charles Robinson Jr., David and Robert.
The family lived in Los Angeles during important years of Charles’ career. A 1966 LIFE photograph later published by TIME shows Ray and Della outside their Los Angeles home with Robert, David and Ray Jr. The archival image is particularly valuable because it documents Della and the children as a family rather than relying on later celebrity-biography retellings.
Raising Their Three Sons
Their eldest son, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955 and later became a film producer and author. He worked as a co-producer on Ray and published his family memoir in 2010. Penguin Random House describes the book as an intimate account of Ray Charles’ private life and highlights its portrayal of Della’s resilience. At the same time, addiction, affairs and paternity disputes threatened the household’s stability.
David and Robert maintained lower public profiles, although both appear in credible reporting about the Charles family. Archival photographs from 1966 identify David and Robert alongside their parents and older brother, providing contemporary confirmation of the household.
It would be inappropriate to construct detailed biographies of the sons from scattered family-tree pages or unverified databases. Their relevance here is that Della and Ray Charles had three children together and that much of Della’s public story is connected to her role in maintaining their family during lengthy periods when Charles was touring.
The Pressures That Affected the Marriage
Ray Charles’ long struggle with heroin addiction and his relationships with other women are documented in family accounts, biographies and Charles’ own public history. Ray Jr.’s memoir describes how his father’s drug use, womanising and resulting paternity disputes created continuing instability within the Robinson home.
These issues should be presented as documented family circumstances, not as sensational gossip. Della was raising children while her husband’s career required frequent travel and while his private behaviour increasingly became a public matter. Her son’s account presents her as a source of discipline and continuity rather than a passive supporting character.
The couple divorced in 1977. Reliable reporting confirms the year, although publicly accessible high-quality sources do not provide a complete, dependable account of the divorce terms. Claims that Della received a particular cash payment, property portfolio, trust arrangement or continuing estate entitlement should therefore not be published without court records or another authoritative document.
Della Bea Robinson in the Film Ray
The 2004 musical biographical drama Ray brought Della’s name to a much wider audience. Kerry Washington portrayed Della Bea Robinson, while Jamie Foxx played Ray Charles. The film also featured Regina King as Margie Hendricks and was directed by Taylor Hackford.
Della and other members of the Charles family were involved with the production, and Ray Charles Robinson Jr. received a co-producer credit. Reporting from the period also indicates that the screenplay’s writers and producers spoke with Della about the complexities of the marriage.
The film remains a dramatised biography rather than a documentary record. Scenes, dialogue and chronology were shaped for cinematic storytelling, so viewers should not assume that every private conversation shown on screen happened exactly as depicted. Nevertheless, Washington’s performance helped establish Della as an emotionally significant figure in the story rather than simply identifying her by name.
The Real Person and the Screen Character
Online image searches frequently return photographs of Kerry Washington in costume alongside pictures of the real Della Robinson. Publishers should label them carefully. A film still showing Washington must not be captioned as an authentic photograph of Della.
The clearest historical images are properly credited archival photographs, including the Bill Ray family portrait published by LIFE and later presented by TIME. Any use of that image would require appropriate permission or licensing from the rights holder.
The Della B. Robinson Story Film Project
On 11 March 2026, Hit Song Productions announced that a faith-based drama titled The Della B. Robinson Story was in development. The announcement said the film would focus on her gospel career, marriage, motherhood, faith and personal sacrifices. It also identified Robert Eisele, the screenwriter of The Great Debaters, as the project’s writer.
At the announcement stage, no final cast, filming schedule, distributor or release date was provided. The project should therefore be described only as in development, not as a completed or forthcoming release with a guaranteed premiere. Film projects can change substantially or remain undeveloped after an initial announcement.
The proposed film is still notable because it shifts the narrative perspective. Whereas Ray naturally centred on Ray Charles, this project has been presented as Della’s story, with her music, faith and domestic responsibilities placed at the centre.
Is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Still Alive?
A definitive current answer cannot be responsibly established from the strongest publicly accessible sources reviewed for this article. The Washington Post reported that Della was invited to a 2016 White House tribute to Ray Charles, providing credible confirmation that she remained publicly connected to his legacy at that time.
Numerous recent biography websites state that she is still alive and publish a precise age or residence. However, these pages generally do not cite a family announcement, direct interview, verified representative or authoritative public record. The absence of an obituary does not, by itself, prove that a private person is living.
Accordingly, CelebProfileMag.com should avoid declaring her alive, deceased, a specific age or resident in a particular county until a reliable current source is available.
Why Della Robinson’s Story Still Matters
Della’s life illustrates how celebrity biographies can minimise the family labour surrounding a successful public career. Ray Charles’ achievements are his own, but the domestic stability described by his son formed part of the environment in which that career continued. Della raised three sons while coping with prolonged absences and serious pressures inside the marriage.
Her story is also a reminder that privacy is not an information gap that publishers must fill through speculation. Della did not build a separate publicity career around her former marriage, and the limited availability of later-life information should be respected rather than converted into invented facts.
What can be documented is meaningful enough: she was a gospel singer, Ray Charles’ wife for more than two decades, the mother of three of his sons and a central figure in family accounts of his private life.
One Concise Fact-Check Note
Fact-check note: Precise claims about Della Robinson’s birth date, birthplace, current age, health, residence, height, net worth, divorce settlement and present living status were excluded because they could not be confirmed through a recent primary source or sufficiently authoritative independent evidence.
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FAQs
Who is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson, also known as Della Bea Robinson, is a former gospel singer best known as Ray Charles’ second wife and the mother of three of his sons.
How long were Della Robinson and Ray Charles married?
They were married from 1955 until their divorce in 1977, a period of approximately 22 years.
How many children did Della Robinson have with Ray Charles?
They had three sons: Ray Charles Robinson Jr., David Robinson and Robert Robinson.
Was Della Beatrice Howard Robinson a singer?
Yes. Her eldest son’s published memoir describes her as a gospel singer with an impressive voice that attracted Ray Charles. A complete, independently verified discography has not been established.
Who played Della Bea Robinson in Ray?
Kerry Washington portrayed Della Bea Robinson in the 2004 film, opposite Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles.
Why did Della Robinson and Ray Charles divorce?
Family and biographical accounts identify Ray Charles’ prolonged drug addiction, infidelity and the instability surrounding those issues as major strains on the marriage. The couple divorced in 1977.
Is a film being made about Della Robinson?
Hit Song Productions announced The Della B. Robinson Story in March 2026. It was described as being in development, with no confirmed release date or cast announced at that stage.
Final Perspective on Della Beatrice Howard Robinson
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson should not be reduced to a footnote in Ray Charles’ biography. The available evidence presents her as a woman with her own gospel background who became a mother of three and maintained family life through some of the most difficult and successful years of Charles’ career.
Her marriage, the pressures surrounding it and her portrayal in Ray explain why readers continue to search for her. Yet the most responsible profile is one that recognises the limits of the public record. Her documented contribution to the Robinson family is significant without adding unsupported claims about wealth, age or private life.
