Alice Tan Ridley, a singer who shared her powerful vocals on the New York City subway before performing on “America’s Got Talent” and the mother of Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, has died.
Ridley died March 25 in New York City, her family announced in an obituary published on the Sconiers Funeral Home website. A cause of death was not revealed. She was 72.
The obituary described Ridley, known among loved ones as “Tan,” as a “pillar of the New York City singing circuit.” Singing was Ridley’s “God-given” talent and she shared it throughout the city with performances at numerous subway stations, primarily at Herald Square, the obituary said. She was also a paid singer at the famous Cotton Club of Harlem.
Ridley, a former teacher, was best known for her time on the fifth season of “America’s Got Talent.” As daughter Gabourey received awards-season love for her moving performance in “Precious,” Ridley appeared on “AGT” at age 57 in pursuit of her own dreams. She wowed audiences and judges Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel and Piers Morgan with her soulful rendition of Etta James’ “At Last.” The trio of judges unanimously agreed to move Ridley forward, and throughout the competition she continued to showcase her vocal abilities by performing hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Gladys Knight.
To Osbourne, Ridley was a “natural performer” with a “powerhouse of a voice.” Ridley’s “America’s Got Talent” journey ended at the semifinals after she performed her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.”
While “America’s Got Talent” was the most popular platform for Ridley, it wasn’t her only one. After her “AGT” elimination, Ridley continued to bring her music to various stages including New York’s Highline Ballroom and the daytime space with an appearance on Harry Connick Jr.’s talk show “Harry.”
“I love to sing but, you know, I saw a need in the subway stations because people are sometimes sad about their jobs, about their day or whatever and they have a frown on their face,” she told the entertainer in 2017. “I like to turn that frown into a smile.”
After “AGT,” Ridley also released her debut album “Never Lost My Way” in 2016. Ridley was also a contestant on “Showtime at the Apollo,” appeared in the 2005 documentary “Rize” and the TV talent show “30 Seconds to Fame,” according to the obituary.
Ridley, born Dec. 21, 1952, in Lumpkin, Ga., was the second youngest of eight children to parents Melton Lee Ridley and Lessie B. Ridley. Her sister was activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, who died in December 2022.
The singer graduated from Stewart County High School in 1969 and pursued education, eventually receiving her teaching license. She married Ibnou Sidibe in 1980 and they share two children: Gabourey and son Ahmed Sidibe. The “Empire” actor said in 2017 that her parents separated early in her childhood after it was revealed her father had a second family. Despite this, the ex-spouses remained cordial, the obituary said.
In addition to her children, Ridley is survived by brothers James D. “Jimmy” Ridley and Tommy Lee “Tom-Tom” Cherry; sisters Julia Van Mater-Miller and Mildred Ridley Dent; grandchildren Cooper and Maya, and several other relatives.
The family will host a funeral service Saturday in Georgia followed by a burial near her birthplace.
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