Celebrity Nooz: Vikki Carr

Vikki Carr (Singer)

Updated: 05/09/2008

Name: Vikki Carr

Birth Name: Florencia Vicenta de Casillas Martinez y Cardona

Born: July 19, 1941 in El Paso, Texas

Claim To Fame: If you're over 50 then the name Vikki Carr instantly conjures up the thought of singing. Vikki has had a long and successful career. She has topped the Latino and American charts.... Actually, Vikki is starting to be known to a whole new generation. There have been so many re-releases of her CDs which have been extremely strong in sales. I'm not real familiar with Vikki myself, but when I hear her name I instantly think of the movie 'Moonstruck'. If you remember, Vincent Gardenia had a big crush on Vikki Carr and used to play her album all the time... much to the chagrin of his wife played by Olympia Dukakis.

Family Life: Pedro De Leon (June 1993 - present)
Dann Moss (March 1966 - November 1974) (divorced)

Info: Vikki made her public debut at age 4 singing "Adeste Fideles" in Latin at a Christmas concert.

Trivia: Her first hit was "He's a Rebel", which in 1962 reached No. 115 in the U.S.

Is of Mexican descent.

Was the first female to guest host for "The Tonight Show."

She has 17 Gold albums of which three won Grammys.

Has performed for five presidents and the Queen of England

In 1971, she established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to offering college scholarships to Hispanic students in California and Texas. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 280 scholarships totaling over a quarter of a million dollars. http://www.vcsf.net/

Where Are They Now: In 2002, she appeared to great acclaim in a Los Angeles production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, which also featured Hal Linden, Patty Duke and Harry Groener.

In 2006, Carr made a cameo appearance in a straight-to-video thriller called 'Puerto Vallarta Squeeze'.

Respected as both an artist and a humanitarian, she devotes time to many charities including the United Way, the American Lung Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and St. Jude's Hospital. For 22 years she held benefit concerts to support Holy Cross High School in San Antonio, Texas.

Vikki now lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband who is a doctor.

She continues to do concert dates throughout the year. You can check her website (listed below) for a listing of appearances.

She appeared on the PBS 'Fiesta Mexicana' show in June 2008.

Vikki will be singing live on the Latin Grammys November 13, 2008 on Univision TV (Spanish)

Write To Vikki Carr:
Vikki Carr
P.O. Box 780968
San Antonio, TX 78278

Videos: Vikki Carr - Everything I've Got

Official Website: www.vikkicarr.net

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