Dana was born in London on 30 March 1949. She is the daughter of Baron De Winterstein Gillespie, an Austrian Radiologist. Dana grew up in England and her family's villa on Lake Maggiore, Italy. She was the British Junior Water Skiing Champion for four years until an injury forced her retirement. She recorded initially in the folk genre in the mid-1960s, although she was more known at this time for being the girlfriend of Bob Dylan. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the teen pop category, such as the 1966 single "Thank You Boy", produced by Jimmy Page. Her acting career got under way shortly afterwards, and overshadowed her musical career in the late 1960s and 1970s. After performing backing vocals on the track "It Ain't Easy" from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, she recorded an album produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson in 1973, "Weren't Born a Man". Subsequent efforts have been in the blues genre, appearing with her "London Blues Band". She is notable for being the original Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar which opened at the Palace Theatre in late 1971. She also appears on the Original London Cast album which was released the following year. She is a close friend and associate of Angela Bowie, David Bowie's wife. As of 2007, Dana often plays at "Basil's Blues Bar" on Mustique Island, the Caribbean, for three weeks in January through to February. This mostly features her "London Blues Band", but she also invites other acts. In 2005, Mick Jagger appeared as a guest and sang songs such as: "Honky Tonk Women", "Dust My Broom" and "Goin' Down".
Her "London Blues Band" normally consists of the following musicians: Mike Paice, Jake Zaitz, Dino Baptiste, Jeff Walker, Evan Jenkins.
In 1977 she tested for the role of Ursa, the lead villainess, in Superman II. Most of her earlier roles are characterised by their emphasis on her impressive physique.
