CeCe and BeBe Benjamin “BeBe” Winans, born September 17, 1962, and Priscilla “CeCe” Winans, born October 8, 1964, make up the American gospel duet Winans. David Glenn “Pop” and Delores Amelia Ransom “Mom” Winans, a gospel duo with ten children: David Glenn Jr., Ronald “Ron,” fraternal twins Carvin Lawrence & Marvin Lawrence, Michael, Daniel, Benjamin “BeBe,” Priscilla Marie “CeCe” Winans-Love, Angelique “Angie” Winans-Caldwell, and Debra Renee “Debbie” Winans-Low
BeBe, the youngest child in the enormous family, and CeCe, the oldest female, were close growing up and even shared a locker while attending Detroit’s Mumford High School.
BeBe and CeCe became PTL (Praise the Lord) vocalists in 1982 after traveling to North Carolina to audition. The siblings relocated from Detroit, Michigan to the PTL campus in Charlotte, North Carolina and appeared on the television show hosted by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker for five years. PTL’s label signed BeBe and CeCe to their first recording contract after being impressed by their background vocals, and the singing siblings recorded a duet titled Lord Lift Us Up in 1984.
With their newfound fame, BeBe and CeCe became the first black artists to sign to Sparrow Records in 1985, and they went on to complete full-length albums. BeBe and CeCe left PTL to pursue their musical careers, signing a second contract with Capitol Records.
BeBe and CeCe Winans’ self-titled album debuted at number 12 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart in 1987, and in 1988, they won a Dove Award for New Artist of the Year and a Stellar Award for Best New Gospel Artist. The pair’s accolades and awards continued with hit singles I.O.U. Me, Love Said Not So, Heaven, Lost Without You, and Addictive Love. The song “Close to You,” from the album Still, won a Dove Award in the category of Urban Recorded Song in 2010.
Together, BeBe and CeCe have won numerous Grammy, Dove, Stellar, Soul Train Music, and NAACP Image Awards. The duo had chart-topping hits over a two-decade period and released seven albums together: Lord Lift Us Up (1984), BeBe & CeCe Winans (1987), Heaven (1988), Different Lifestyles (1991), First Christmas (1993), Relationships (1994), and Still (2009) before departing to pursue solo projects. Over five million records were sold by them as a duo.
BeBe and CeCe Winans were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2015 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.