Angela Stribling, the jazz singer who became one of BET’s familiar on-air faces in the 1990s and later a trusted voice on Washington, D.C., radio, has died at 58. Her husband, Ken Washington, said Angela Stribling died peacefully at home on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Washington announced her death on Instagram. The same message appeared on Stribling’s own account and was shared by WHUR 96.3, the D.C. station where she spent years behind the microphone.
Angela Stribling Dies After Two-Year Illness
Washington revealed that his wife had been fighting brain cancer for two years. He praised her courage and said he and her sister, Darlene, were at her side when she died.
In his tribute, he described a woman who left behind love, joy, kindness and a voice people would not forget.
Her death comes just weeks before what would have been her 59th birthday. On Oct. 13 last year, Stribling posted a birthday message on Facebook that reads differently now. She thanked God for another year and called the previous 12 months the hardest of her life, pointing to a health problem that had taken her by surprise. She told followers she had come through it and was ready for whatever lay ahead.
From Buffalo to BET
Stribling was born in Buffalo, New York, and her first plan had nothing to do with broadcasting. She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Mentors and friends urged her to build a career around her voice, and she took that advice to Washington.
According to her LinkedIn profile, her early TV work included WJZ-TV in Baltimore and WJLA-TV in Washington. Black Entertainment Television, however, is where she became known to a national audience.
Some context helps here. BET launched in 1980 as the first cable network aimed at Black viewers. Through the 1990s it was one of the few places on national television where Black actors and musicians were covered as a matter of routine. Stribling hosted the network’s entertainment news show, Screen Scene, during that decade. She also fronted Jazz Central, which gave the genre a regular showcase on a channel better known for R&B and hip-hop.
The jazz connection was personal. “I’m a jazz singer first,” she once told Copa Style Magazine. In the same interview she described broadcasting as a central part of who she was, and she said she loved performing, promoting other artists, and talking about all of it on air.
A Voice Washington Trusted
In her later career, radio became her home. Stribling hosted Pillow Talk with Angela, which aired on WHUR and on Sirius XM. WHUR is Howard University’s commercial station and the birthplace of the “Quiet Storm” late-night format, and a smooth, conversational host suited it well.
Her interview list over the years covered politics, music and film. It included former President Bill Clinton, Quincy Jones, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Sterling K. Brown.
Many Americans who never heard her show may still know her voice. Stribling narrated national ad campaigns for Mercedes-Benz of North America, Folgers Coffee and Allstate Insurance, and she voiced a series of national awareness campaigns.
Screen Moments Beyond the Studio
Stribling also appeared on screen outside the newsroom. She had a cameo as a TV news anchor in The Distinguished Gentleman, Eddie Murphy’s 1992 political comedy. In 2020, reality TV viewers saw her on Season 5 of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac.
These appearances were small next to her main work, but they show how far her career reached. She moved between the jazz stage, the TV set, the radio booth and the recording studio.
Her family plans to hold a celebration of life in Washington, D.C. The date and venue will be announced later.
