Beth Ditto

Beth Ditto is a singer, songwriter, designer, and actress living in Portland, Oregon. Beth grew up in the small town of Judsonia, Arkansas, and moved to Olympia at 18 with encouragement from her Arkansas friends Nathan Howdeshell and Kathy Mendonça. Upon Beth’s arrival in 1999, the three friends moved into a house on Percival Street and almost immediately formed an indie blues band called The Gossip. Mere months later, they toured with Sleater Kinney, signed to the Kill Rock Stars record label, played the first Olympia Ladyfest, and continued on their upward trajectory. The band moved to Portland in 2002 and changed their name to Gossip with a new drummer, Hannah Billie. They signed to a major label in 2007 and embarked on a national tour with queer artists and allies, including Margaret Cho and Cyndi Lauper, to raise money for the Human Rights Campaign. The band took a break in 2016, allowing Beth to pursue other interests, including developing fashion and makeup lines, modeling, coauthoring the memoir Coal to Diamonds with Michelle Tea, and acting in movies and television series. Today, Beth lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner, musician and former Olympia resident Ted Kwo.