Alice Tan Ridley, who competed on America’s Got Talent in 2010 after decades of performing in New York City subway stations, died on March 25 at age 72, according to an obituary from her family.
Ridley — who was also the mother of Precious and American Horror Story actress Gabourey Sidibe — pursued her dreams of singing late in life, competing on season 5 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent in 2010 at age 58. She wowed the judges with her cover of Etta James’ “At Last” and with her story of performing on subway platforms for years. After Ridley’s initial audition, judge Sharon Osbourne marveled, “Alice, millions of people must’ve gone back and forth on that subway over the 20 years. How come nobody signed you?”
Ridley made it to the semifinals of AGT season 5 (with singer/songwriter Michael Grimm winning and 10-year-old singer Jackie Evancho finishing in second), and she released her debut album, Never Lost My Way, in 2016 at age 63.
Born in Lumpkin, Georgia, in 1952, Ridley moved to New York as an adult and got her teaching license. In addition to her subway singing, she also performed at Harlem’s Cotton Club for their “Brunch and Gospel” on Sundays.
Ridley is survived by two children: one son, Ahmed Sidibe, and her Oscar-nominated daughter Gabourey Sidibe, who made her film debut in 2009 in the title role of Precious. She’s gone on to appear in five seasons of the American Horror Story anthology series, as well as the 2015-2020 Fox musical series Empire as Becky.
