Perhaps the hardest thing for a singer to do is forge a unique identity upon leaving a successful group. And The Supremes weren’t just successful; they were second only to The Beatles in terms of popularity in the 60s. With twelve #1 hits under her belt as their silky smooth lead vocalist, Diana Ross was faced with the task of somehow equaling her earlier successes, and for almost four decades, she has proven time and time again to be up to the challenge.

The year was 1970 and The Supremes were no more. But rather than rest on her laurels, Diana had a new single ready for release within months of the breakup. She scored a top-20 hit right out of the gate with “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), a gospel-infused ballad that would go on to serve as her signature song for the rest of her career. Proving yet again that she could achieve that coveted #1 position on the charts, she followed up with a remake of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” With it’s spoken word intro that builds and modulates into a multi-harmony crescendo of epic proportions, the song quickly won the hearts of anyone who had doubted her ability to make a comeback.

The hits didn’t stop coming for Diana in the following years. She scored big with another remake, this time of the Four Tops “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and another hit single “Remember Me.” Soon, she was even hosting her own television variety special, aptly titled Diana! and featuring performances by Bill Cosby and The Jackson Five. Now, with a foray into television under her belt, it was time to take a shot at the big screen. And like everything else in her career, she proved that she was a formidable talent, landing an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of legendary jazz vocalist Billy Holiday in the film Lady Sings the Blues.

By 1973, Diana was ready to return to the pop charts and promptly moved into the top spot with her latest release, "Touch Me in the Morning." She followed up with a series of duets with the legendary Marvin Gaye for the album Diana and Marvin. Interestingly enough, the two performers never worked in the studio together for this record – each recording their parts individually on separate coasts. Little did it matter, the magical pairing of voices scored another hit on the charts.

Within two years, she caught the acting bug again, appearing in the film Mahogany where she played the role of a fashion designer. She also lent her pristine pipes to the title track for the film, "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To.” And thanks to her haunting vocal track, her efforts were rewarded by another #1 hit, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.

With the age of the disco era on the horizon, Diana proved herself ready to change with the times. Her first offering, “Love Hangover” deceptively started as one of her signature ballads, but midway through, erupted into a funky disco frenzy. Her fans embraced the change and, yet again, she had another #1 hit on her hands. Not quite ready to be pigeonholed into that particular genre, she followed up with a one-woman Broadway show, earning a Tony Award. The same show was televised on NBC and released as An Evening With Diana Ross, a huge-selling double album.

The same year, when Motown managed to acquire the film rights to a successful Broadway Show called The Wiz (an African-American take on The Wizard of Oz,) they turned to the pop superstar to play the lead role of Dorothy, alongside one of her early Motown protégés and future King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Together the pair eased on down the yellow brick road and, although the film did poorly at the box office, the accompanying soundtrack sold close to a million copies.

For her earlier solo hits, Diana Ross had turned to the prolific songwriting/production team of Ashford and Simpson, and by 1979, she joined with the pair again to create The Boss, a contemporary pop album, which got its fair share of airplay. She also got her disco feet wet again with the Chic-produced album, Diana, featuring the song “Upside Down” another number-one hit for the pop diva, as well as the #5 reaching song “I’m Coming Out.”

As the 80s arrived, Diana showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. First, she scored a top-ten hit with “It’s My Turn,” the title track of a comedy film starring Michael Douglas. Then she teamed up with another formidable legend, singer and songwriter Lionel Richie for the title track to the film, Endless Love. The song would be The Number One Record of the Year and make her the first female artist ever to have six #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It would also mark her departure from the Motown record label.

Moving to the RCA label, she debuted with Why Do Fools Fall In Love, which contained three Top-Ten hits and went double-platinum. Two years later, she reunited with The Supremes for the first time in over twenty years, for the television special, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. She also performed her famous Central Park Concert, a free show that took place in the pouring rain, and in front of an audience of 500,000 people. And in 1985, she again teamed with Lionel Richie to record a tribute to her friend Marvin Gaye called “Missing You. ” In case you couldn’t guess, the song went to #1. By the end of the decade, she had moved back to Motown and proceeded to embark upon an ambitious and highly lucrative world tour. She also became a part owner of the famed record label upon her return.

In the 90s, she continued to find success, mostly with the issue of a number of compilation albums and a string of hits in the UK where she had always been enormously popular. She also returned to acting in 1994, portraying a schizophrenia victim in the television film, Out of Darkness.

And into the new millennium, Diana Ross has already found herself on the charts more than once. She released a successful duet with Rod Steward called “I Got a Crush on You, and also saw a collection of her previously unreleased recordings of jazz standards go to #2 on the jazz charts. She released a new album as recently as 2007 and, the same year, received a lifetime achievement award from the BET Awards, as well as being made an honoree of the Kennedy Center.

She continues to tour around the world, shows no signs of slowing down and is without a doubt one of the most successful women recording artists that has ever existed. Diana Ross may have won the hearts of millions as part of the fabulous Supremes, but unlike so many other members of singing groups throughout history, she proved that she could do just fine on her own.