By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015
Aretha Franklin, Angela Bassett and Susan L. Taylor are honorary members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Bassett and Taylor both became honorary members of the sorority on July 13, 2013.
Franklin is a rhythm and blues, soul, jazz and gospel singer who won 18 Grammy Awards as of 2014 and was the first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. She is one of the best-selling female artists of all time and is often called the “Queen of Soul.”
Bassett is a graduate of Yale University’s drama school, and she is most acclaimed for biographical roles depicting strong women, including Tina Turner, Betty Shabazz, Rosa Parks, Katherine Jackson and Voletta Wallace. Her recurring role on “American Horror Story: Coven” earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.
Taylor began her professional career as a freelance fashion and beauty editor during the inception of “Essence” magazine in 1970, and she became the editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1981, a position she held until 2000. In 1998, the Magazine Publishers of America awarded Taylor the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, which made her the first African-American woman to receive one of the industry’s highest honors.
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