Maria Cole

• Birth Name — Maria Antoinette Hawkins • Born — 1 August 1922 • Birthplace — Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. • Died — 10 July 2012 • Place of death — Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. • Module2 — Children: 5, including Natalie Cole • Genre — Jazz • Years Active — 1936–1955 • Occupation — Singer • Label — Capitol

Cole was born in Boston and was the niece of Charlotte Hawkins Brown. Her father Mingo Hawkins was a letter carrier. Her mother Carol died while giving birth to her sister. In 1943 she married Spurgeon Ellington, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black unit of the Army Air Corps in World War II. He died during a training flight. On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), Maria married Nat King Cole. The Coles were married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. They had five children: Natalie (1950–2015), who had a successful career as a singer; an adopted daughter, Carole (1944–2009, the daughter of Maria's sister), who died of lung cancer at the age of 64; an adopted son, Nat Kelly Cole (1959–1995), who died at the age of 36; and twin daughters, Casey and Timolin (born September 26, 1961), whose birth was announced in the "Milestones" column of Time magazine on October 6, 1961. Maria supported Nat during his final illness and stayed with him until his death. Five years after the death of Nat King Cole, Maria Cole bought a house in Tyringham, Massachusetts, known as South House, where she raised her five children, including singer Natalie Cole. Maria was married to screenwriter Gary DeVore from 1969 until their divorce in 1978.

She was a jazz singer who worked with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, under the name Marie Ellington. She met Nat "King" Cole while they were both singing at the Zanzibar club. She was co-host of a talk show, "Tempo," that aired on KHJ television in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

Cole died in a nursing home in Boca Raton, Florida on July 10, 2012, at the age of 89, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.

The authorities additionally record the headings Maria Antoinette Hawkins, Maria Hawkins, Maria Ellington, Maria Hawkins Ellington and Marie Ellington. She married Nat King Cole. One child is recorded: Natalie Cole. Other recorded relations include Charlotte Hawkins Brown.