Biography
Maria Howell delivered the choir soloist performance in the award-winning film The Color Purple, shot in Marshville near Charlotte. Wanda Maria Howell, a Gastonia, NC native, set her sights on singing and acting by age six, learning harmony directly from her mother, who performed in her church choir. Howell joined that same congregation’s choir at thirteen, passing along those skills to fellow members.
Jazz stands as her top genre, shaped by its foremost female vocalists, while she also embraces gospel, soul, contemporary R&B, and classical music. Her striking appearance pairs with formidable vocal power. After finishing at Hunter Huss High, Howell earned a biology degree from Winston-Salem State University, initially planning to pursue medicine.
Her drive toward entertainment proved stronger, so she set medical ambitions aside to chase singing and acting roles. In addition to The Color Purple, she portrayed Goldie in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, appeared as Shirley in the USA network film Linda, and played Elsa in the CBS movie Shattered Dreams. On stage she took the role of Marietta, Maya Angelou’s daughter, in Langston Hughes’ Tambourines to Glory and co-starred in Celebrations: An African Odyssey.
Howell collaborated with General Johnson of Chairmen of the Board, whom she calls a hoot, and supplied backing vocals for the group’s What Goes Around Comes Around CD. She has shared bills with Najee, George Howard, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Tuck & Patti, Marvin Hamlisch, Kim Waters, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, K-Ci & Jo-Jo, Philip Bailey, and Babyface. Three regional singles—“Something You Got,” “Love Flight 109,” and “Misconstrue”—were later collected on the Ripete CD Carolina Soul, Spirit Records Anthology.
Between beach-music dates, films, and plays, she performed sultry jazz and R&B for an extended run at Jonathan’s Jazz Cellar with her group, the 7th Street Band. In 1995 she moved to Okinawa, Japan, with her husband, machine gunnery sergeant Louis Stukes, and recorded the 12-inch “X-Ray Eyes” for Tandem Records.
Highwaves Records released two Rodney Shelton-produced projects: the mini-CD Peace of Mind in 1999, tracked at Charlotte’s White Room, and Same Old Story, recorded in Atlanta, GA in 1999 and issued the next year. The stylish singer drew strong reviews across the Asia-Pacific region in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Singapore, Sapporo, and Okinawa venues including Naha City Club D-Set, Kadena Air Base, and 7th Heaven Club. She appeared in two Japanese commercials, and Same Old Story found popularity in the United Kingdom.
Jazz stands as her top genre, shaped by its foremost female vocalists, while she also embraces gospel, soul, contemporary R&B, and classical music. Her striking appearance pairs with formidable vocal power. After finishing at Hunter Huss High, Howell earned a biology degree from Winston-Salem State University, initially planning to pursue medicine.
Her drive toward entertainment proved stronger, so she set medical ambitions aside to chase singing and acting roles. In addition to The Color Purple, she portrayed Goldie in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, appeared as Shirley in the USA network film Linda, and played Elsa in the CBS movie Shattered Dreams. On stage she took the role of Marietta, Maya Angelou’s daughter, in Langston Hughes’ Tambourines to Glory and co-starred in Celebrations: An African Odyssey.
Howell collaborated with General Johnson of Chairmen of the Board, whom she calls a hoot, and supplied backing vocals for the group’s What Goes Around Comes Around CD. She has shared bills with Najee, George Howard, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Tuck & Patti, Marvin Hamlisch, Kim Waters, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, K-Ci & Jo-Jo, Philip Bailey, and Babyface. Three regional singles—“Something You Got,” “Love Flight 109,” and “Misconstrue”—were later collected on the Ripete CD Carolina Soul, Spirit Records Anthology.
Between beach-music dates, films, and plays, she performed sultry jazz and R&B for an extended run at Jonathan’s Jazz Cellar with her group, the 7th Street Band. In 1995 she moved to Okinawa, Japan, with her husband, machine gunnery sergeant Louis Stukes, and recorded the 12-inch “X-Ray Eyes” for Tandem Records.
Highwaves Records released two Rodney Shelton-produced projects: the mini-CD Peace of Mind in 1999, tracked at Charlotte’s White Room, and Same Old Story, recorded in Atlanta, GA in 1999 and issued the next year. The stylish singer drew strong reviews across the Asia-Pacific region in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Singapore, Sapporo, and Okinawa venues including Naha City Club D-Set, Kadena Air Base, and 7th Heaven Club. She appeared in two Japanese commercials, and Same Old Story found popularity in the United Kingdom.
Albums
Edge of Destruction (Wildfire Remix)
2021
Don't Give Up On Love (The Radio Mix)
2015
Don't Give Up On Love
2014
Holiday Melodies
2009
"Let You Go" (DJ Circle Classic Vocal Mix)
2009
Soul
2008
What Does Christmas Mean To You (CD Single)
2007
Singles
