Marsha McWilson

Marsha McWilson

Certified Woman Minority Business Salon Owner, Recording Artist, TV Actress, Motivational Speaker

Marsha is the baby of 12 children-- her parents were happily married for 56 years before they passed away. Her father was a carpenter and electrician. Her mother served on the Human Rights Commission.

Marsha is married to Howard and mother to two miracle sons, one of whom was fatally gunned down and died at the age of 24. In life, Marsha has known much pain, dealing with the death of 4 of her brothers, 3 sisters, 2 sisters-in-love, a niece and a nephew (both tragic deaths) and parents all in a short span of time. Despite many tragedies, Marsha has persevered through it all, clinging to her faith in God. She knows the struggle of barriers holding her back. Obesity almost stopped her from living her dreams. She jumped over her obstacles, though, and transformed her life. Now she's standing on stages she never thought she'd be on because of her size. As a musical minister, Marsha is the kind of artist who walks into a room radiating light, love and laughter. You don't just hear her sing-- you experience her. She'll tell you, "I work for the waymaker." 
 

Even at a young age, Marsha lived life with gusto, being listed in the Who’s Who In America book in 1984. After graduating from the MarJon School of Beauty Culture in 1994, Marsha opened her own salon called McWilson House of Beauty. She has done hair, makeup and clothing for many beautiful women over the years, including Gospel legend Shirley Caesar. In addition to owning and running her own business, Marsha has made a name for herself as an accomplished singer, appearing on the Bobby Jones Gospel TV show and singing in concert with greats like David & Tamela Mann, Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Donnie McClurkin, Michael Buble and many others. Marsha has met several fellow entertainers like Tyler Perry, Bobby Brown, comedian Luenell, the cast of Menopause: The Musical, and CeCe Peniston. She has lead a Gospel choir down the runway at Fashion Week in Toronto. You might have heard her as a radio host on WUFO-Buffalo. Having trained under Les Brown, Marsha is also a motivational speaker, talking to young people about making good choices in life. Her giving spirit garnered her a Humanitarian Award from the City of Niagara Falls in 2002. She won an acting contest on the Tom Joyner Cruise which lead to an appearance in Tyler Perry’s TV show, If Loving You Is Wrong. She has been paying tribute to Etta James with standing-room-only concerts in places like Lewiston, NY.  She also recorded her Blue Sky Blues CD, a follow-up to her hit song on iTunes entitled “Balance.” She also played the role of "Athena" in "The Odyssey" at Artpark during the summer of 2018 and sang during the Lewiston Jazz Fest at What's The Point Ministries. Marsha has found time to coordinate LEWAC cancer awareness/prevention events for several years in a row. She is an evangelist at Zion Dominion Global Ministries, serving under Bishop Roderick L. Hennings. In 2020, she was inducted into the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame, as well as listed in Who's Who in America and honored by God's Woman Vanessa Scott Outreach Ministries as a prominent woman in her community. 

During the Coronavirus Pandemic, she wrote and recorded the song "Rona Mae Blues," which received a lot of media attention, especially because she lost her sister Vanessa and several other friends and relatives to the virus. 

While Marsha calls Niagara Falls, New York, home, she could see herself living and working in Las Vegas or California. She recently performed in Las Vegas and loved it! 

Bonus: Marsha McWilson Day was declared in Buffalo by Mayor Byron Brown on July 29, 2022!