- New Orleans-born operatic lyric soprano, TV songstress and nightclub entertainer.
- Graduated from Loyola University of the South's College of Music in 1940, she subsequently studied at Louisiana State University, where she was a student of the baritone Pasquale Amato.
- She joined the New York City Opera in 1944 as the youngest member of the company. Her first role at the City Center was Nedda in "Pagliacci," which was followed by "La bohème" (as Musetta), "Der Zigeunerbaron" and "Don Giovanni" (as Donna Elvira), among others.
- Her 1950 Broadway debut in "Happy as Larry", starring and directed by Burgess Meredith led to her joining the cast of the Your Show of Shows (1950) starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.
- Made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1951 as Rosalinde von Eisenstein in "Die Fledermaus". She later became a fixture in supper and night clubs.
- Before the dangers of cigarette smoking were made public, the opera singer pitched Camel cigarettes on TV, saying that Camels had "a mildness that agrees with my throat".
- In 1968, she recovered from three operations on her face to remove cancerous growths, and in 1973 was treated for cervical and uterine cancer.
- Married four times and has six children. In 1975, one of her sons committed suicide.
- She and writer/daughter (also named Marguerite) published her autobiography, "Pagliacci Has Nothing on Me", in 2007.
- Her contributions to various charities has been celebrated, especially the annual Marguerite Piazza Gala and Auction for the benefit of St Jude Children's Research Hospital.
- One of her daughters, Anna-Becky (Condon) Redlich (born 1962), is a rock singer-songwriter. Redlich sang with her mom in concert with various orchestras, including the Memphis Symphony, New Orleans Symphony and Greenwood Symphony Orchestra. All of Marguerite's children, in fact, took music lessons.
- Her first two marriages were unhappy ones, each of whom bore her a child. First husband Karl Kritz was instrumental in furthering her musical knowledge. Second husband, Graves McDonald, an alcoholic who deserted her when she became pregnant with his child, died before they could divorce.
- Suffered serious injuries in a car accident.
- Third husband, William Condon, was a Memphis company executive. They had four children: Shirley, Anna-Becky, Gregory and William Jr.
- Formerly black-haired, she later turned blonde.
- Best known for her early work in television, performing with Sid Caesar on NBC's comedy classic "Your Show of Shows" in the 1950s.
- Piazza was a headliner in supper clubs for 18 years and performed at such places as the Coconut Grove and the Sands in Los Angeles, and the Plaza and the Waldorf in New York.
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