Gregory Hines was married twice in his lifetime. His first marriage was with Patricia Panella. He shared Daria with her. Photo by Getty Images. He starred in more than 40 movies during his life and made his mark on Broadway.
Gregory Hines was a celebrated tap dancer, actor, director, and musician. He is one of the world’s most celebrated tap dancers of all time and is best known for his roles in “Wolfen,” “The Cotton Club,” and “Running Scared.”
Gregory is also notable for “The Gregory Hines Show,” and for playing Ben on “Will & Grace.” He also voiced Big Bill on the animated children’s TV program, “Little Bill,” which aired on Nick Jr. from 1999 to 2004.
Gregory Hines arrives at the premiere of Showtimes “The Red Sneakers” on January 29, 2002.
In his lifetime, he starred in over 40 movies and also made his mark on Broadway. He won numerous awards and recognitions including the Daytime Emmy Award (with Tony Award), a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award.
Gregory was born on February 14, 1946, in New York City, New York. Alma Lola was his mother, and Maurice Robert Hines was his father.
Gregory was introduced early to the entertainment sector by his older brother Maurice, who had started tap dancing. Henry Le Tang, a master tap dancer, taught the brothers to tap dancing.
Gregory Hines, an actor, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles in 1990. Maurice & Gregory were also known as the Hine Kids.
Maurice and Gregory were known as The Hine Kids. They appeared at the Apollo Theatre where they were taught and received knowledge from stars like Sandman Sims or the Nicholas Brothers.
In 1954, The Hine Kids made their first Broadway appearance in the musical “The Girl in Pink Tights.” They changed their professional name to The Hines Brothers as they grew older.
Gregory spent the last five years of his life with his fiancée Negrita Jayde.
Their father became a drummer and they changed their name to Hines Hines and Dad. They played in many nightclubs and were featured on Johnny Carson’s and Ed Sullivan shows.
In 1968, Gregory married Patricia Panella. A part of the book “Gregory Hines” by Dennis Abrams and Gina De Angelis detailed how he met Panella.
Gregory was at the time discovering women and learning more about opposite sex. On weekends, Gregory’s mom visited him at the Catskills Resort, a mountainous resort located northwest of New York City.
Gregory was lured to the laundry area by a group o’ guys on a weekday. They told Gregory about a group young women.
Gregory later described his laundry room as a great place for meeting as the girls showed Gregory how to fold clothes. He claimed it was the first thing he did without his mother and felt good.
Gregory married Pamela Koslow, and they had a son named Zachary together in 1981.
Panella was one the girls Gregory met. He was only 22 years old at the time, and felt it important to have his own identity apart from his family.
Panella and Gregory moved to New York City after their marriage. In 1971, they welcomed Daria Hines into their lives. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1973.
In the same year of their divorce, Gregory left Hines, Hines, and Dad due to a dispute between him and his brother. He then moved to Venice Beach in California and formed the jazz-rock band Severance.
Gregory revealed later the reasons he had left his family’s band. He stated that he knew he wasn’t interested in working with them anymore. It was traumatizing because his childhood life had changed so drastically.
Gregory married Pamela Koslow, and they had a son named Zachary in 1981. He also had a stepdaughter, Jessica. They divorced in 2000.
Gregory spent the last five years of his life with his fiancée Negrita Jayde. Hedied on August 9, 2003, due to liver cancer. He was 57.
Panella, Gregory’s first wife was a graceful woman who continues to live her life happily. Panella has a strong bond with Daria, their daughter. She constantly showers her with love via social media.
Daria posted a sweet tribute on her Instagram page to Panella in honor of Mother’s Day 2020. She shared a rare throwback picture of her and her mother all smiles andcaptioned it:
“🌸👯♀️happy mothers day Mamacita 🥰🎉🎉🥳 and of course all the moms handling their biz.”
On this year’s Mother’s Day, Daria also celebrated her mom by sharing another throwback picture of them in the 1980s. The photo showed the mother-daughter pair smiling while they posed in their coats. Dariacaptioned the post:
“The 80’s with my mama❤️❤️happy Mothers day ❤️🥰.”
Panella is also active on Instagram, where she regularly posts pictures of her beautiful moments with friends, family, and loved ones.
Daria shared a picture on April 27th 2017 of her and Daria standing in front of a Range Rover white, and they were embracing one another. Shecaptioned the post, “Laguna Beach.”
On that same day, she shared a photo from her birthday celebration for that year. The snap shows her and her three children sitting around a table with her beautiful birthday cake. There were candles around the cake.
In August 2019, Panella shared a picture of her and her sister. The photo shows them smiling and posing in a park. Panella wore an all-black blouse, while her sister wore grey.
Panella looked older than her sister and had blonde hair. She looked young and vibrant, which is very encouraging.