She was born in West Philadelphia, and is the third child of five. She was an artist from a young age. She was born with a passion to be artistic and began dancing and singing in high school. After performing under Faye Snow at West Phila High School, she was invited to audition for Philadanco. Denise graduated from West Philadelphia High School, Delaware County Community College and went on to pursue a career as a health care professional. She was an OB-GYN nurse at a large Philadelphia teaching hospital. She worked as a medical assistant and department floater in Oncology, Invitro Fertilization, and High Risk OB for thirteen years. Nineteen eighty-three marked a turning point in her life. As her popularity as a singer grew, so did her hospital career. She was clearly on a collision course. After a long day in the hospital, and a night of performing in Atlantic City the previous night, she was exhausted when she finally arrived at the hospital. She knew that she needed to make a choice. She was unsure if she wanted to stop listening to music, which was her passion, or continue her work in health care. Music won and she was able to build a successful career that has spanned over two decades. It’s obvious that Denise was born singing. She was not like her brothers, who were R drummers.
