Introduction
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson is best known as the second wife of Ray Charles. People also know her as Della Bea Robinson or simply Bea. She married Ray in 1955, at a time when his music work was becoming much bigger. Their marriage lasted for more than two decades, and they had three sons together. Della spent much of those years raising the family while Ray traveled for concerts and recording sessions.
Years later, people still ask about Della’s age, children, divorce, money, and whether she is still alive. Some pages say she died in 1997, while others say she is living quietly in her 90s. The 1997 claim does not fit later facts because Della was mentioned in connection with a White House tribute to Ray Charles in 2016. What happened after that is less easy to check because she has kept her life very quiet.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Della Beatrice Howard Robinson |
| Also Known As | Della Bea Robinson, Della B. Robinson, Bea |
| Commonly Reported Birth Year | 1929 |
| Age in 2026 | Around 96 or 97, if the 1929 birth year is correct |
| Known For | Second wife of Ray Charles |
| Former Husband | Ray Charles |
| Marriage Date | April 5, 1955 |
| Divorce Year | 1977 |
| Marriage Length | About 22 years |
| Children | Ray Charles Robinson Jr., David Robinson, Robert Robinson |
| Occupation | Commonly described as a gospel singer before marriage |
| First Wife of Ray Charles? | No, Ray’s first wife was Eileen Williams |
| Connection to Margie Hendricks | Margie had a relationship with Ray during his marriage to Della |
| Movie Portrayal | Played by Kerry Washington in Ray (2004) |
| Death in 1997? | No, that claim is contradicted by later reports |
| Last Strong Public Sign | Mentioned in connection with a 2016 White House tribute |
| Alive in 2026? | Not firmly confirmed by a recent family or official source |
| Net Worth | No reliable public figure confirmed |
| Current Life | Very private |
| Social Media | No widely verified public account |
Who Is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson?
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson was Ray Charles’s second wife and the mother of three of his sons. Before marriage, she was often described as a gospel singer. Some accounts say she sang with gospel groups and performed before giving up much of that work after settling down with Ray. There is less material about her singing than there is about Ray’s music, so many parts of those early years remain hard to check.
Her name appears in several forms. Della Beatrice Howard, Della Bea Robinson, Della B. Robinson, and Della Beatrice Howard Robinson all refer to the same woman. Ray’s full birth name was Ray Charles Robinson, which explains why Robinson became part of her married name. After their divorce, she stayed away from regular interviews and did not turn her marriage into a media business.
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Age and Birthday
Many biography pages say Della was born in 1929. If that year is right, she would be around 96 or 97 years old in 2026. The problem is that a firm full birthday is hard to check. Some sites give an exact date, while others only give the year. None of the stronger material about Ray’s family makes a full birth date easy to confirm.
Because of that, 1929 is better treated as a commonly reported year rather than a date that has been fully proved. The same goes for claims about her exact age today. If she is still living and 1929 is right, then she would be in her late 90s. But both parts of that sentence depend on facts that have not been newly confirmed by Della or a close family member.
Eileen Williams, Aretha Robinson and Della Bea
Della was not Ray Charles’s first wife. His first wife was Eileen Williams. Ray married Eileen in 1951, but the marriage ended in 1952. It lasted less than a year. Della came later and became his second wife, marrying him in April 1955.
Another name that sometimes gets mixed into Della’s bio is Aretha Robinson, also known as Aretha Williams. Aretha was Ray Charles’s mother, not his wife and not Della’s mother. She raised Ray during his early years and had a big place in his childhood. So the family line is simple: Eileen Williams was Ray’s first wife, Della was his second wife, and Aretha was his mother.
Ray Charles and Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Marriage
Ray and Della married on April 5, 1955. Their first son arrived only a short time later. During the early years of their marriage, Ray was spending more and more time on the road. Concerts, studio sessions, travel, and growing demand for his music kept him away from home for long periods.
Della handled much of the family side of life. Their marriage was not easy. Ray later spoke openly about heroin use and relationships with other women. Those problems followed the couple for years. Della had to deal with a husband who was often away, surrounded by musicians and fans, and struggling with drug use. Even with those problems, the marriage lasted about 22 years.
Children of Della Beatrice Howard Robinson
Della and Ray had three sons. Their first child, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955. He later became involved in film work and helped with projects connected to his father. He was also linked with the 2004 movie Ray, which brought his parents’ marriage to a much larger audience.
Their second son was David Robinson, born in 1958. David died in 2013 at the age of 54. Their third son, Robert Robinson, was born around 1960. Ray Charles had other children with other women, but those children should not be listed as Della’s. Her sons with Ray were Ray Jr., David, and Robert.
Margie Hendricks and the Marriage Problems
Margie Hendricks was a singer with the Raelettes, the female group that performed with Ray Charles. Ray and Margie had a relationship while he was married to Della. They also had a son together, Charles Wayne Hendricks, born in 1959. This relationship became one of the better-known examples of Ray’s affairs during his marriage.
The 2004 movie Ray made the tension between Della, Ray, and Margie much more familiar to viewers. Kerry Washington played Della, Jamie Foxx played Ray, and Regina King played Margie. The movie changed and shortened some events for the screen, but Ray’s affairs and drug use were real problems in his marriage. Della stayed with him for years before the couple finally went separate ways.
Why Did Della and Ray Charles Divorce?
Della and Ray divorced in 1977. By then, they had been married for about 22 years. There was no one single reason that can explain the split. Ray’s heroin use, his affairs, long trips away from home, and years of pressure inside the marriage all played a part.
Ray had stopped using heroin before the divorce, but stopping the drug did not repair everything that had happened over the years. Della eventually left the marriage and moved into a much quieter part of her life. She did not spend the following years going from interview to interview attacking Ray. Instead, she stayed mostly away from cameras and kept family matters to herself.
Della Bea in the Movie Ray
The movie Ray came out in 2004 and brought Della’s name back into the news. Kerry Washington played her, while Jamie Foxx took the part of Ray Charles. The film showed Della dealing with Ray’s growing music work, drug use, and relationships with other women.
The real Della was spoken to while the movie was being prepared. That gave the writers some idea of how she saw her marriage from inside the home. Ray Charles Robinson Jr. was also involved with the movie. Even so, Ray was made for cinema, so some scenes and conversations were written or shortened. It is useful for understanding the general family problems, but every scene should not be treated as a word-for-word account of real life.
Is Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Still Alive?
The claim that Della died in 1997 is wrong. A later report from 2016 said she was expected to attend a White House event honoring Ray Charles. That means she was living many years after 1997. This is one of the easiest online rumors about her to correct.
The harder question is whether Della is still living in 2026. There is no widely known obituary that gives a confirmed death year. At the same time, there is no recent statement from Della, Ray Jr., Robert, or another close family member saying how she is doing today. The safest answer is that she was known to be living in 2016, while her condition in 2026 has not been firmly confirmed.
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson Today and Net Worth
After the divorce, Della kept her life quiet. There is very little solid info about where she lives today or what she does from day to day. She does not have a widely confirmed Instagram page and has not become a regular face on television. That quiet life is probably one reason so many different claims about her appear online.
Her net worth is another good example. Some sites give numbers such as $15 million, but they do not show strong proof for those figures. Della may have received money or property when she divorced Ray, but full financial details are not easy to find. She had been divorced from him for many years when he died in 2004, so people should not simply assume that his later money became hers. Her exact net worth is best described as unknown.
Conclusion
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson spent more than 20 years married to Ray Charles. She was his second wife, not his first, and she had three sons with him: Ray Jr., David, and Robert. Their marriage began in 1955 and ended in 1977 after years of travel, drug problems, and Ray’s relationships with other women.
Her life after divorce was much quieter. The movie Ray brought her name back to many viewers in 2004, with Kerry Washington playing her on screen. Later reporting showed that Della was still living in 2016, which rules out claims that she died in 1997.
What happened after 2016 is less certain. There is no firm recent obituary, but there is also no strong new family statement confirming how she is doing in 2026. Her exact birthday and net worth are also hard to prove. The plain facts are enough: Della Bea was Ray Charles’s wife for 22 years, raised three sons with him, lived through some very hard years of his life, and later chose to stay away from attention.
