Known as the "Queen of Happiness," Florence Mills was a popular American black cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty. A daughter of former slaves Nellie (Simon) and John Winfrey, she was born Florence Winfrey in Goat Alley , a slum in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 1895 and died in New York City, New York, on November 1, 1927.

Featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and photographed by Bassano and Edward Steichen, she was best known for her renditions of "I'm Just a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" and "I'm Cravin' for that Kind of Love." She starred in acclaimed reviews in London, Paris, Ostend, Liverpool, and other European venues.

At the time of an acclaimed appearance at the London Pavilion, she had an affair with Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George VI of Great Britain . From 1921 until her death in 1927, she was married to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson , a dancing instructor of a black jazz band known as the Tennessee Ten .

She died of complications of appendicitis.

After her death, Duke Ellington memorialized Mills in his song "Black Beauty."