Billings was born in Illinois into a multiracial family; she is of European American, African American, and Native American ancestry. Billings's father, Robert Billings, was a music teacher at Los Angeles Harbor College and … See more

In the early 1980s, Billings worked under the stage name Shanté at the famed Baton Show Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, where she impersonated Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, and Liza Minnelli. Winning a series of beauty c… See more

Billings is an AIDS and LGBTQ activist and advocate for the equality of the LGBTQ community and has encouraged others to use their voices to create change within the LGBTQ community.
In 2016, Bil… See more