Sheila E is an American singer, actress, percussionist, and an author, who started with the band The George Duke Band. As a solo artist, her debut album was a hit. The album also includes a hit single The Glamorous Life, produced by the late Prince, an American singer, and songwriter.
Shiela Cecelia Escovedo was born on the 12th of December, 1957, in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of father Pete Escovedo, a percussionist, and mother Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker. She is of American nationality. Her father is a Mexican while her mother comes from a French/ African ancestry. She is an aunt to the fashion designer Nicole Richie, the daughter of Shiela's brother Peter Michael Escovedo who is also a musician.
Similarly, she is also the niece of rock musician Alejandro Escovedo and her grandfather was Tito Puente, another famous American musician, and songwriter. Her other uncles Javier Escovedo and Mario Escovedo were also musicians in different bands; The Zeros and The Dragons respectively. Sheila's uncle Coke Escovedo form the band Azteca was a former member of the group Santana, headed by the guitarist with the same name.
There is very little information regarding her childhood, and her educational background is also unknown. Coming from a family full of talented musicians, Shiela too decided to pursue a career in music and picked the percussions at a young age.
Sheila E started her career as a percussionist for the bassist Alphonso Johnson in the year 1976. By the time she was 20, she had already performed with many prominent artists within the artist like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, and Lionel Richie to name some. She then joined The George Duke Band in 1977 and has been a part of several of their albums like Don't Let Go, Follow the Rainbow, A Brazilian Love Affair and Master of the Game.
Sheila met the famous musician Prince in 1978, who then promised to let her play in his band in the future. They later met in 1984 during the recording of Purple Rain and was credited for her vocals in the songs like Erotic City and Let's Go Crazy.
Her debut album The Glamorous Life was a huge success and the song The Glamorous Life reached No#7 In the Billboard 100. She received two Grammy Awards for the Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Best New Artist for the album. Prince co-produced a few of her albums like Romance 1600, Sheila E and, in turn, she was the drummer for his band as well as his musical director.
In 1989, Sheila decided to part ways from Prince's organization and started working with Demetrius Ross on her new album Sex Cymbal (1991). The album wasn't quite financially successful. During the time, she even suffered medical illness which hampered the promotion of her album.
She then did a few studios with Namie Amuro's band and was also the sidekick and bandleader for Magic Johnson's talk show The Magic Hour. She also performed with Ringo Starr from The Beatles in his band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. She has also worked with Beyonce on her song Work It Out. Later, she formed an alliance with Rhonda Smith, Cassandra O'Neal, and Kat Dyson, to form C.O.E.D.
Similarly, Sheila has also appeared in several live shows like The Vh1 Divas, One Nite Alone... Live!, 36th NAACP Image Awards, and Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas. She has remained as the judge for The Next Great American Band, and also a contestant in the reality music show Gone Country, which she won.
Later again, she joined forces with Prince again and performed in two of his tours. Sheila then released her first album in 12 years, Icon. The album was her first release under the banner Stilettoflats Music, her own music label. She also released Iconic: Message 4 America, which also features other artists like George Clinton, Candy Dufler and Ringo Starr.
Sheila E was also credited for her drums in the orchestral track of the movies like Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), starring Henry Cavill. She has also worked on the film Boss Baby, featuring Alec Baldwin, where she also worked as a percussionist to the film's soundtrack.
Apart from these, Sheila has also authored a book an autobiography titled Beat of my Own Drum.
59 years of Age Sheila is still an unmarried woman. However, she has had a string of boyfriends in her past, which includes the relationship with Carlos Santana, whom she claims to be her first love. The couple was engaged for a brief time but the details are unknown. She later dated Prince after they met at a concert, but the pair couldn't keep up with each other, and ultimately broke up. Sheila has stated that she decided to remain forever single after the death of Prince.
During her prime, Sheila E was called the "Queen of Percussion" and was known for her lean figure and her 5 feet and 2 inches height.
Sheila E has an estimated net worth of $12 million which can be credited to the sale of her records and her collaborative works with different musicians. She has still not disclosed the salary she received from her different projects and tours.
