Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth DBE is an English singer and actress known for her vocal range, technical skill, vast repertoire and depth of interpretation.^[ She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth. Already a household name in Britain and Europe, Laine's international activities began in 1972, with a successful first tour of Australia, where she released six top-100 albums throughout the 1970s. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances. Coast-to-coast tours of the US and Canada soon followed, and with them a succession of record albums and television appearances, including The Muppet Show in 1977. This led, after several nominations, to her first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert.  She has collaborated with James Galway, Nigel Kennedy, Julian Lloyd Webber and John Williams among many others.

Derek Jewel of the Sunday Times dubbed her "quite simply the best singer in the world."