Watch: Gladys Knight Speaks Out After Her Son Accuses Her Husband of Abuse
Gladys Knight is taking the midnight train to her next chapter.
The Gladys Knight & the Pips frontwoman, 82, announced that she’s taking a step back from performing to spend more time with her family.
“After much soul searching,” she said in an Aug. 27 Instagram post, “I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward.”
Knight—who has been married to William McDowell since 2001—continued why she’s decided to shift her focus.
“I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband,” she shared, “and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”
The seven-time Grammy winner—who is mom to Kenya Newman, 63, who she shares with ex-husband James Newton (the couple’s son James “Jimmy” Newman III died in 1999 at the age of 36), and Shanga Hankerson, 50, who she shares with ex-husband Barry Hankerson—went on to express her gratitude for her fans’ support.
“I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this past three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way,” Knight, who also has 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, per Parade, wrote. “I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you.”
The “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer finished by sharing her hope that she gets to see her fans more in the future.
“I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road,” she said. “God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”
Fans and famous friends alike flooded the comments of Knight’s post to share their gratitude for all that she’s given them over the years and supporting her decision to step into her next phase of life.
“You have given us your ALL,” Kelly Rowland wrote. “Thank You a million times over! I love you Ms.Gladys.”
Andy Cohen also offered his support, commenting, “You have given us so much!”
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Singer Kim Wayans also chimed in under the post.
“The Wayans Family loves you Gladys,” she shared. “You (and the Pips) are a huge part of the soundtrack of our lives. Thank you for all the amazing and soulful music you have given to the world. Whatever you decide to do Legend, we’re with you.”
Knight isn’t the only star to take a step back from the spotlight. Keep reading for celebs who have left Hollywood over the years…
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Ellen and her wife Portia de Rossi have since moved to the Cotswolds, deciding to stay put in November 2024 after Donald Trump‘s reelection, the talk show host told to Richard Bacon in a July 2025 conversation at the Everyman theater in Cheltenham.”It’s absolutely beautiful,” she gushed about the English countryside, per the BBC. “We’re just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture—everything you see is charming and it’s just a simpler way of life.”It’s clean,” Ellen continued. “Everything here is just better—the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here. We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”
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