Style Icon: Maria Cole (Maria Hawkins Ellington)

The beautiful and elegant Maria Cole (wife of the legendary Nat King Cole and Mother of famed singer Natalie Cole), was a singer in her own right prior to her marriage to Nat. Although she sang with Duke Ellington's band, they are not related. A Few years back, I watched her on A&E'S Biography during an interview about her late husband and have always thought her to be the epitome of style elegance and grace. As you can see from picture one, that still holds true.