Reading was born in
Chester, Pennsylvania. Her performing career started at the age of 3, when she was talent-spotted by
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. She appeared in the all-black revue
The Jazz Train, in
Paris in the spring of 1955 and at the
Piccadilly Theatre in
London. In this show she had notable success playing the great blues singer
Bessie Smith. Adept at a whole range of musical styles, from
gospel to
blues to musical comedy, in addition to her talent, Reading also had a striking appearance and a renowned sense of humour. Her straight-acting performance as a nurse in
William Faulkner's play
Requiem for a Nun in 1957 earned her a nomination for a
Tony Award when it transferred to
Broadway. She also appeared in the 1958 musical
Valmouth, adapted from a
Ronald Firbank novel of the same name. The next years saw Reading spending time abroad in
cabaret, as well as having two marriages. In 1979 she appeared at the
Roundhouse in London in
Only In America, a tribute show to the musical composers
Jerry Leiber and
Mike Stoller. In the 1980s she presented many one-woman shows, usually debuting at the
Kings Head Theatre Club in
Islington, London. Reading appeared but did not sing in a 1981 music video by UK soul/funk band
Linx for their album's title track "
Intuition". In 1982, Reading she appeared in the
Sandy Wilson musical
Valmouth at the
Chichester Festival Theatre playing Mrs Yajñavalkya. It was in 1982 that Reading married Thomas R.V. Blake with a ceremony held in
Chichester. In the 1985 solo show
Every Inch a Lady, Reading donned a pink satin
tutu and danced to a version of The
Sugar Plum Fairy, which had been choreographed by the dancer
Wayne Sleep. Reading appeared in the 1986 film version of
Little Shop of Horrors, as the "Downtown" older woman, who sings the beginning words to the song "Skid Row (Downtown)". In the summer of 1986 she recorded a disco album with producer
Ian Levine, which she appeared on
TV-AM's
Good Morning Britain to promote. She also appeared in
South Pacific as
Bloody Mary in
Bournemouth in 1987 and at the Bristol Hippodrome. ==Record Release==