Patti Labelle - Guest Expert

Episode 5

R&B legend and celebrity pitchwoman Patti Labelle serves as a guest expert on the new USA Network original reality/competiton series Made in the USA. She appears on episode 5, "Ready To Pitch?" to give the inventor teams advice about pitching their products based on her own experience as a successful HSN celebrity pitchwoman.

After more than 40 years in the music business, LaBelle is most widely known  for classic ballads such as the duet "On My Own" with Michael McDonald, "If Only You Knew," "You Are My Friend," and "If You Asked Me To."  A two-time Grammy-winner, she became the first artist to record under the Def Jam label Def Soul Classic with the release of  Timeless Journey in May 2004. Her career has included collaborations with a diverse array of songwriters, producers and performers including Babyface, Carlos Santana, Sammi McKinney, Gordon Chambers, DMX, Outkast, and Wyclef Jean. In addition, Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim paid homage to LaBelle with a hip-hop infused rendition of her 1973 hit "Lady Marmalade," which appeared on the soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning Moulin Rouge. 

Beyond music, the Philadelphia native (born Patricia Holte) is the mother of four sons and one daughter. As an author, she has written four best-sellers, Don't Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime, Patti Labelle's Lite Cuisine, Labelle Cuisine, and Patti's Pearls. As an actress, she's starred in her own sitcom, Out All Night, and on numerous television shows and specials. She launched a lifestyle show, Living It Up With Patti LaBelle, on the TV One Network in 2004, and has now expanded her horizons into fashion with Patti LaBelle Clothing, available on HSN and at HSN.com.

LaBelle serves as a spokeswoman for the National Medical Association (which administers a scholarship in her name), the National Minority AIDS Council's "Live Long, Sugar" campaign, and the American Diabetes Association. She also serves on the boards of the National Alzheimer Association, the National Cancer Institute, and the University of Miami's prestigious Sylvestri Comprehensive Care Center, which dedicated a special research laboratory in her honor for her work on behalf of cancer awareness. She has three Honorary Doctorate Degrees, from Cambridge University, Drexel University, and the Berklee School of Music.