Donna Summer: life in pictures

Born on 31 December 1948 in Boston, her real name was LaDonna Adrian Gaines. She then later changed her stage name to Donna Summer. She married actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973, but two years later the couple divorced. Donna, however, decided to keep his last name and so emerged her new stage name. They had one daughter together, Mimi.

In the '70s, she made a name for herself with hits like Like Dance, Hot Stuff and Bad Girls.