Sherrill was born inBayonne, New Jersey, on August 20, 1924.[1] Her first ambition was to become a writer:[1] she was the editor of her school paper.[2] She had a sister, Alice.[1]
Sherrill began her career withDuke Ellington in July 1942 when she was 17 years old. After a period atWilberforce University, she rejoined in 1944 and remained with Ellington until 1946, when she left to marry Richard Guilmenot.[1] Ellington considered her one of his favorite singers.[3] "I never really left the band. I did recordings and special occasions. Duke would call me for jobs once a year at least," Sherrill toldJohn S. Wilson in 1979.[2] Sherrill also performed with EllingtoniansRay Nance andRex Stewart for many years.[3] She worked with Ellington on the television broadcast ofA Drum Is a Woman (1957), and toured theUSSR withBenny Goodman in 1962.[1] The 1965 albumJoya Sherrill Sings Duke features Ellingtonians performing in support.[4]
From 1970, Sherrill hosted a children's television show,Time for Joya, later calledJoya's Fun School.[1] This was recorded for a few years, but was rerun until 1982.[1] In the mid-1970s, she accompanied her husband when he went to Iran for his work.[2] There, she had her own television program, which was broadcast live.[2] She returned to singing in New York near the end of that decade.[2]
Her husband died in 1989;[1] they had a son and a daughter.[2] Sherrill died from leukemia at home inGreat Neck, New York, on June 28, 2010.[3]
