Thelma Coleman was the first wife of Berry Gordy. Thelma’s ex-husband, Berry Gordy is known widely as the founder of Motown Records. He is a retired record producer, songwriter, former professional boxer, television producer and film producer, whose career was active from 1953 to 2019.
In this article, we have all the information about the first wife of a man who has been married and divorced three times. Keep reading to be informed!!
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Thelma Coleman : Bio Summary
| Full Name | Thelma Coleman Gordy |
| Famous as | Berry Gordy’s first wife |
| Age | 74 years old at the time of death |
| Date of Birth | May 1, 1932 |
| Place of Birth | United States of America |
| Zodiac sign | Taurus |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Black |
| Children | Three (3) |
Who is Thelma Coleman, Berry Gordy’s first wife?
Thelma Coleman, whose full name was Thelma Louise Coleman, was born May 1, 1932. She was 74 years old, when she died in July 2007 in San Bernardino, USA.. Her birthplace was Grayson County, Texas in the United States. Her nationality was American and her ethnicity was black.
She was the daughter of Hazel Coleman, the owner and founder of Thelma Records, a record label which was active from 1962 to 1966 in Detroit, Michigan. Her father is unknown. She grew up with her family in Grayson County, where she was born.
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Thelma Records, which recorded for musicians like Emanuel Laskey, Eddie Hill, The Fabulous Peps and Martha Star, was named after Thelma Coleman. It was not revealed as to why the label was named after her.
Thelma did not reveal any information about her educational background. Her basic education, college or university was never disclosed, but it is known that she was a writer and a musician.
As a musician, she released songs like Hello Love, Words, etc. Though she was a musician and a writer, her claim to fame was her marriage to Berry Gordy and also being the first official wife of the record label owner.
Thelma Coleman and Berry Gordy’s marriage
The marriage between Thelma Coleman and Motown Records founder, Berry Gordy took place on 1953. How the former couple met has not been revealed by any of the two or anyone else. They dated for more than a year before they got married.
Thelma and Berry’s marriage lasted for seven years, as it collapsed in 1959. The reason for the collapse of the marriage was not disclosed to the public, just like many celebrity divorces. The union resulted in the birth of three children.
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There are no known previous relationship of the former couple. Thelma rose to fame through her marriage to Berry, therefore there was little information on her life before the marriage. Berry on the other side might have also be in some relationship before, but we have no information on any of that.
After their divorce, Thelma went on to do her music and writings, but much was not heard of her life. There is no information on whether she got married again or stayed single till her death.
Thelma Coleman’s former husband, Berry Gordy went ahead after the divorce to get married for the second and third time. His second marriage was to Raynoma Mayberry Lilies in 1960. The couple had one son called Kerry Gordy and divorced in 1964.
Berry later had other intimate relationship and had other children out of wedlock, until he married his third wife. His marriage was to Grace Eton, who he married in 1990 and divorced in 1993.
Thelma Coleman Gordy’s children
From above, we got to know that Thelma and her former husband, Berry had three children. We also got to know that, there is no information on whether she had any other children after the divorce.
Her three children with Berry were, Hazel Joy Gordy, Berry Gordy IV and Terry James Gordy. Hazel, who was the first born of the couple was born born August 24, 1954. She was once married to Jermaine Jackson, an American musician and a member of the Jackson family.
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Thelma’s second born, Gordy IV was also born October 1955. He is the father of American rapper and musician Skyler Austin Gordy, who is popularly known as Sky Blu.
The third and final child, Terry was born in August 1956. He is less famous amongst all the children of Thelma and rarely in the news.
Where is Thelma Coleman Gordy now?
Thelma Coleman Gordy went out of the limelight after her divorce from Berry Gordy to pursue her music and writing career. She died in July 2007 at age 74 in San Bernardino, United States. The cause of her death has not been disclosed, but it is likely to be a natural death.