Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
As lead singer of indie-disco trio Gossip, non-conformist Beth Ditto became just as famous for challenging the perceptions of female beauty and sexuality as she did for her spell bindingly raw gospel-soul voice. Born Mary Beth Patterson in 1981, she grew up in a tiny house in Searcy, AK with her large family, before moving to Washington at the age of 18, where she teamed up with guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie to form post-punk outfit the Gossip. After being named "the coolest person in rock" by NME, one of three publications she posed nude for (alongside erotica magazine On Our Backs and London style bible Love), the band broke through to the mainstream with their third album's title track, "Standing In the Way of Control," written by Ditto as a response to the U.S. government's ban on gay marriage. Ditto's larger than life, uncompromising image turned her into an unlikely fashion icon, a development which resulted in her opening Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring Collection at the 2010 Paris Fashion Week, and creating her own collection for U.K. retailer Evans. After providing guest vocals on records by Calvin Johnson ( "Lightning Rod for Jesus" ), Simian Mobile Disco ("Cruel Intentions") and Jarvis Cocker (a duet cover version of Heaven 17's "Temptation"), she released her own solo debut self-titled EP in 2011. Ditto also has her own advice column in British broadsheet The Guardian, launched a campaign to ban the clothing "size zero", and formed supergroup Crisis with Paul Weller and Graham Coxon to raise money for a homeless charity.
Wikipedia:
Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto (born February 19, 1981, in Searcy, Arkansas), is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.
Personal life
At 13, she moved out of her mother’s house and went to live with her aunt. A resident of Portland, Oregon, she is a close friend of Scissor Sisters lead singer Ana Matronic, and considers her favorite song to be "Oh Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. She courted mild controversy in 2006 when, during an interview for NME magazine, she claimed to have eaten squirrels as a child, saying that "people in Arkansas just do – they'd think you were a freak if you ate squid there!"
Ditto is known for her noticeable stage dances and her unique and revealing image. She classes herself as a punk, and thus does not wear deodorant or shave under her armpits, having once remarked that "I think punks usually smell". She also formerly contributed an advice column on body image to The Guardian newspaper.
In February 2009, she was featured in London as the cover model for the premiere of Love magazine with prominent public advertising. On July 9, 2009, Beth's fashion collection for the UK retailer Evans was released for sale, both online, and in selected stores across the UK.
Ditto, who is a lesbian, is well known for her outspoken support of both LGBT and feminist causes.
Her most recent modeling work consisted of opening the Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2011 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on October 2, 2010.