“According to the casting world, I’m a black actress. But I always say that I’m a woman of color – several colors, because I’m black and Jewish. And that’s been a great blessing in my life.”
– Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Joy Silberstein was born on October 29, 1972 in Los Angeles, California, she is the daughter of singer/actress Diana Ross and music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein. Ross attended the Dalton School in Manhattan and the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. She was a model in her teens.
She attended Brown University where she appeared in plays, and graduated in 1994 with a theatre degree. She later worked in the fashion industry, as a model and contributing fashion editor to Mirabella and New York magazine.
Tracee made her big screen debut in 1996, playing a Jewish/African-American woman in the independent feature film Far Harbor. The following year, she debuted as host of The Dish, a Lifetime TV magazine series keeping tabs on popular culture. In 1998, she starred as a former high school track star who remained silent about having been abused at the hands of a coach, in the NBC made-for-TV movie: Race Against Fear: A Moment of Truth. Her next role was an independent feature film Sue. In 2000, she landed her first major studio role in Diane Keaton’s Hanging Up. The same year, she broke into comedy as a regular performer in the MTV series The Lyricist Lounge Show, a hip-hop variety series mixing music, dramatic sketches, and comedic skits.
Ross’ biggest career achievement came when she landed the role of Joan Carol Clayton — a successful (and often neurotic) lawyer looking for love, challenges, and adventure, in the hit UPN/CW series Girlfriends. The series centers on four young African-American women. In 2007, Tracee won an NAACP Image Award in the category, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the series. She won a second Image Award for the role in 2009.
In 2007, Ross starred with her brother Evan Ross and Queen Latifah in the HBO movie Life Support, That same year, she appeared in the Tyler Perry theatrical movie, Daddy’s Little Girls. She will appear in the upcoming 2009 film Labor Pains.
Ross was honored by The Los Angeles Urban League as “Volunteer of the Year” for 2004. She is passionate about her work with young girls in this country and works very closely with the Big Brother Big Sister program and the Aviva House Organizations in Los Angeles. In the summer of 2008, she created and held a self-esteem workshop for young girls called “The Me I Know”. As a vetted Obama Surrogate, Ross campaigned across the country during 2007 and 2008.
“I am not good at eyelash fluttering, although I wish I were. But unfortunately, I’m afraid I come from that plain old grit and iron school. Grit your teeth and keep on ironin’ honey.”
– TAMARA DOBSON
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in May 1947, gorgeous Tamara Dobson did not set out to be an actor. In the 1960’s, she started a career as a licensed beautician and later earned a degree in fashion illustration at the Maryland Institute of Art.
Between 1970 and 1971, Dobson went to New York, after the statuesque (reportedly 6’2″) art student was selected for a fashion show. She embarked on a career as a model and appeared magazines such as Vogue, Essence, Mademoiselle, Redbook and Ebony. She also appeared in a number of commercials before entering films. In 1972, she had small roles in several films, including Come Back, Charleston Blue and Fuzz. Her first starring role came in Cleopatra Jones (1973; with Shelley Winters).
With Tamara Dobson’s strong performances in Cleopatra Jones, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, and Norman . . . Is That You?, it would seem that her stardom was assured, but that wasn’t the case. The blacksploitation genre perished in the mid 1970s, and many actors suffered because of it. Dobson worked in films and television only sporadically from the late 1970’s through the early 1980’s. Dobson showed up again in films in the 1983 women-in-prison film Chained Heat which starred Linda Blair. In 1984, Dobson appeared in the made-for-television adventure Amazons.
The late 1990’s saw a renewed interest in blacksplotation films and their stars; the ones who are still living, such as Pam Grier, have seen a resurgeance in their careers. For several years now, Warner Bros. has shown interest in a remake of Cleopatra Jones, this time with Whitney Houston in the title role, but the remake has not come to pass. Sadly, Tamara Dobson passed away from complications of pneumonia and multiple sclerosis on October 2, 2006, at the age of 59. She was the tallest woman (6ft. 2 in.) who played in a movie according to The Guinness Book of World Records.
“Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It`s about accepting all of yourself. You`ve got to learn to accept the fool in you as well as the part that`s got it goin’ on.”
– TYRA BANKS
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American model, television host, actress, singer and businessperson.
Banks was born in Inglewood, California, the daughter of Carolyn (née London), a fashion manager and NASA photographer, and Donald Banks, a computer consultant. The couple divorced in 1980, when Banks was 6 years old. However, the relationship between her parents, and between her and her brother Devin Banks (born 1968), stayed friendly. Later, Carolyn married Clifford Johnson; she now goes by Carolyn London-Johnson. Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles.
Banks began modeling in the 11th grade. She later went to Paris, France to do some runway modeling. Within Banks’ first week in Paris, designers were so entranced by her presence on the runway that she was booked for an unprecedented twenty-five shows – a record in the business for a newcomer. She has done extensive print and/or runway work for fashion/advertising giants, such as Anna Sui, Coors Light, CoverGirl, Badgley Mischka, Bill Blass, Cynthia Rowley, Chanel, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Gemma Kahng, H&M, Isaac Mizrahi, Maria Snyder, McDonald’s, Aislinn Dubois Modeling Agency, Michael Kors, Milk, Nicole Miller, Nike, Inc., Oscar de la Renta, Pepsi, Perry Ellis, Randy Kemper, Richard Tyler, Rifat Ozbek, Swatch, Todd Oldham, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret and Yves Saint Laurent. She has appeared on the covers of high-fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Elle.
Banks’ television career began on the fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played lead character Will Smith’s old friend Jackie Ames. She made seven appearances in the series. Tyra’s ‘ first big screen role came in 1994 when she co-starred in the drama Higher Learning. She went on to co-star with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film Life-Size, playing a doll named Eve who comes to life and has to learn how to live in the real world.
Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997, she received the VH1 award for Supermodel of the Year. That same year, she became the first-ever African American chosen for the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalog. In 1998, Banks authored a book entitled Tyra’s Beauty, Inside and Out. The book was advertised as a resource for helping women to make the most out of their natural beauty.
Other TV credits include Felicity, MADtv, Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out (in which she was featured as a special guest host and team captain) and The Price Is Right (guest-starring as a “Barker’s Beauty”). She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode entitled “Chinatown.” Tyra has also starred in Love Stinks (1999), Love & Basketball (2000), Coyote Ugly (2000) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002).
She has also appeared in several music videos, including Michael Jackson’s “Black or White”, Tina Turner’s “Love Thing”, Mobb Deep’s “Trife Life” and George Michael’s “Too Funky” (with fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista). In 2004, she recorded her first single, “Shake Ya Body,” which had a music video featuring the final six contestants on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 2. The video was world-premiered on UPN, but the single turned out to be a failure. On America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 2 Banks said, “Singing has been a passion of mine for a long, long time . . . six years on the down low – been ducking in and out of studios cutting tracks.” Later, on her talk show, she said, “I can’t believe I wasted six years of doing something that I didn’t finish . . . I was almost able to release my album T.Y.R.A., but since my music career hit rock bottom, I quit.”
Though “Shake Ya Body” was a failure, record producer Rodney Jerkins told Jet magazine in 2004 that Banks “has what it takes to pull it off…she had a hungriness to want to be in the studio all the time. Some people want to be divas in the studio and work for three or four hours. You had to tell Tyra to stop, or she will keep you going.”] As for her voice, Jerkins said, “People will be shocked. She can really sing. She’s like between soprano and high-alto. I challenged her vocally. I pushed her, but not too far. I pushed her where vocally it fit the track.”
Banks released a single with NBA player Kobe Bryant, entitled “K.O.B.E.,” which was performed on NBA TV. She also had a single on the Disney movie Life-Size called “Be A Star.”
Banks retired from modeling in May 2005 to concentrate on her television career. She walked the runway for the final time at the 2005 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Currently, Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, judge and executive producer of The CW Television Network show America’s Next Top Model. In addition, she hosts The Tyra Banks Show, a daytime talk show aimed at younger women, which premiered on September 12, 2005. The show features stories about everyday people mixed in with celebrity interviews, much like the early format of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Under the slogan “Every woman has a story…and it happened to Tyra too,” Banks promotes her show using emotional flashbacks to her own childhood and adolescence. Many of the episodes deal with issues facing women today. Banks and other experts give women advice on fashion, relationships and more. The first two seasons of the show were recorded in Banks’ hometown of Los Angeles but, beginning with the fall 2007 season, the show moved to New York City. In 2008, Banks won the Daytime Emmy Award for her work and production on The Tyra Banks Show.
In late-January 2008, Banks got the go-ahead from The CW Television Network to start work on a new reality television series based on fashion magazines called Stylista. The show premiered on October 22, 2008.
“I think you grow through your experiences. You get better as you grow and I’m not nearly where I think I’m going to be, eventually where I aspire to be. And hopefully, the opportunities will continue to come.”
– NIA LONG
Nitara Carlynn “Nia” Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress and occasional music video director.
Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. to Talita, a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry “Doc” Long, a high school teacher and poet. Long’s half sister is comedienne Sommore, star of The Queens of Comedy.
Long is of Afro-Trinidadian descent. Her parents divorced when Long was two years old, and she and her mother moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where her mother studied fine arts. While living there she got an early education in the significance of being black, especially since she was the only black child in her school. As she recalled in People, “. . . one day this boy pushed me off my bike and called me nigger. It was the first time I knew I was different.” After the incident, Long’s mother contacted the police and made her go over to the home of the attacker. This experience and other tough-love measures dished out by her mother made Long a hard-edged kid who refused to accept any abuse from her peers.
They subsequently moved to a South Los Angeles neighborhood when Long was seven. Her mother supported the family by driving a city bus, selling beer at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and teaching art part-time in a local school and at a prison. She also urged her daughter from junior high school on to pursue acting.
Long attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary’s Academy and studied ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, guitar and acting. She graduated from Westchester High School in 1989. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the arts in Los Angeles when Long and her mother first arrived there, Long’s mother took various low-paying jobs (despite having two master’s degrees). The family suffered through financial struggle for years.
After attending Santa Monica City College for two years, Nia quit her studies to give her full attention to acting. Long was instructed by acting coach Betty Bridges, better known as the mother of Diff’rent Strokes star Todd Bridges. Success came quickly, as she landed a role in John Singleton’s highly praised Boyz N The Hood, which was filmed near her own neighborhood. Long could easily relate to the story, which dealt with high school kids growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Los Angeles where gangs ruled the streets and violence was a constant threat. In the film she portrayed the girlfriend of a boy who is trying desperately to get a clean break from gang life.
From there Long made an unusual transition, from the big screen to the grind of a television soap opera. Returning to New York City, she got the role of character Kathryn Speakes on CBS-TV’s The Guiding Light and stayed with the series for three years. Long became highly regarded among soap opera stars, receiving an Image Award nomination for her performance in the series in 1993. During this period Long also was reunited with her father, a poet and English teacher who was living in Trenton, New Jersey, at the time.
After her stint on The Guiding Light, Long returned to the West Coast in hopes of landing more film roles. She faced a grueling five weeks of auditioning for a role she eventually landed 1993’s Made in America. This role demonstrated that Long could also do comedy, and it paid off thanks to Will Smith being one of the co- stars. Smith was then the star of NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air, and he was so impressed with Long’s talent that he chose her to play the role of his girlfriend on the series. From 1994 – 1995, she played Will Smith’s girlfriend and fiancée Beulah “Lisa” Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Jada Pinkett-Smith was originally supposed to play Lisa, but she was late to auditions, thus leaving Nia to take the part.
Long really came into her own in 1997, when she made a splash in two films that demonstrated the range of her talent. In Soul Food she played the daughter of a matriarch whose family gathered every Sunday for a massive feast in her Chicago home. Her big breakthrough was in that year’s Love Jones, in a role that director/writer Theodore Witcher gave to her upon meeting the actress, without an audition. Love Jones dealt with the topsy-turvy romance of two Chicagoans, a photographer (Long) and a poet (Larenz Tate). Rare in its portrayal of black characters in an educated, middle-class context, Love Jones won the Audience Award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It received many favorable reviews, especially for the pairing of Long and Tate. “When we put Nia and Larenz together for a test, the chemistry between them jumped off the screen,” remarked the writer/director Witcher in Essence. “The best reason to see the movie is the hot-blooded chemistry between Tate and Long,” noted Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly. Long’s role also earned her another nomination for an Image Award.
Long played a leading role, or a member of the primary ensemble, in several other films, including Boiler Room, Big Momma’s House, Are We There Yet?, and The Best Man. Ice Cube has starred with her in four films, while Regina King has starred with her in two. Long starred alongside Michael Beach in Soul Food and in the TV series Third Watch.
She appears in the video for Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky“. She directed Yolanda Adams’s music video for “This Too Shall Pass”. Long was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the World 2000 by People. Long co-directed and appeared in Ashanti’s music video, “Baby”. She also made a guest appearance on the successful sitcom Living Single during its first season.
In 2003, she joined the cast of the drama Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her performance on Third Watch. In 2005 and 2006, Long appeared on Everwood, and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006-2007 season.
Long and her former long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Massai Z. Dorsey have a son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, born on November 26, 2000. Dorsey and Long were engaged to be married, but ended their relationship.
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Williams made history on September 17, 1983 when she became the first woman of African American descent to be crowned Miss America.
Williams was born in Tarrytown, New York, the daughter of music teachers Helen and Milton Augustine Williams Jr. Williams and her younger brother Chris, who is also an actor, grew up in the predominantly white middle-class suburban area of Millwood, New York. Prophetically, her parents put “Here she is: Miss America” on her birth announcement.
Williams studied piano and French horn growing up, but was most interested in singing. She received a scholarship and attended Syracuse University as a Theatre Arts major from 1981 to 1983. She discontinued her education at Syracuse during her sophomore year to fulfill her duties as Miss America, and then subsequently left the university to focus on her entertainment career. Twenty-five years later she graduated from Syracuse by earning her remaining college credits through her life experience with two long running Broadway shows and a Tony Award nomination under her belt. Williams delivered the convocation address on May 10, 2008, with 480 other students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Williams began competing in beauty pageants in the early 1980s. Williams won Miss New York in 1983, and went to the Miss America national pageant in Atlantic City. She was crowned Miss America 1984 on September 17, 1983 making her the first-ever African American Miss America. Prior to the final night of competition, Williams won both the Preliminary Talent and Swimsuit Competitions from earlier in the week. Williams’ reign as Miss America was not without its challenges and controversies. For the first time in pageant history, a reigning Miss America was the target of death threats and angry racist hate mail.
Ten months into her reign as Miss America, she received an anonymous phone call stating that nude photos of her taken by a photographer prior to her pageant days had surfaced. Williams believed the photographs were private and had been destroyed; she claims she never signed a release permitting the photos to be used.
The genesis of the photos dated back to 1982, when she worked as an assistant and makeup artist for Mount Kisco, New York photographer Tom Chiapel. According to Williams, Chiapel advised her that he wanted to try a “new concept of silhouettes with two models.” He photographed Williams and another woman in several nude poses.
Hugh Hefner, the publisher of Playboy, was initially offered the photos, but turned them down. Later Hefner would explain why in People Weekly, “Vanessa Williams is a beautiful woman. There was never any question of our interest in the photos. But they clearly weren’t authorized and because they would be the source of considerable embarrassment to her, we decided not to publish them. We were also mindful that she was the first black Miss America.” Days later, Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse, announced that his magazine would publish the photos in their September 1984 issue, and paid Chiapel for the rights to them without Williams’ consent. According to the PBS documentary Miss America, the Vanessa Williams issue of Penthouse would ultimately bring Guccione a $14 million windfall.
After days of media frenzy and sponsors threatening to pull out of the upcoming 1985 pageant, Williams felt pressured by Miss America Pageant officials to resign, and did so in a press conference on July 23, 1984. The title subsequently went to first-runner up, African-Italian Suzette Charles. In early September 1984, Vanessa filed an unheralded $500 million lawsuit against Chiapel and Guccione. According to a Williams family representative, she eventually dropped the suit to avoid further legal battles choosing to move on with her life. Vanessa is quoted as saying “the best revenge is success.”
Although she resigned from fulfilling the duties of a current Miss America, she was allowed to keep the bejeweled crown and scholarship money and is officially recognized by the Miss America Organization today as “Miss America 1984” and Suzette Charles as “Miss America 1984b.”
After time out of the spotlight, Williams secured a record deal, and released her debut album, The Right Stuff in 1988. The first single, “The Right Stuff”, found major success on the R&B Chart while the second single “(He’s Got) The Look” found similar success on the R&B charts. The third single, “Dreamin'”, was a pop hit becoming Williams’ first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #8, and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album reached gold status in the US and earned her three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.
Her second album The Comfort Zone became the biggest success in her music career. The lead single Running Back to You reached top twenty on the Hot 100, and the top position of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on October 5, 1991. Other singles included “The Comfort Zone” (#2 R&B), “Just for Tonight” (#26 Pop), “Work To Do” and the club-only hit “Freedom Dance (Get Free!)”. The most successful single from the album, as well as her biggest hit to date is “Save the Best for Last”. The song was #1 in the United States for five weeks, as well as #1 in Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada and was in the top 5 in Japan and the United Kingdom. The album sold 2.2 million copies in the US at its time of release and has since been certified three times platinum in the United States by the RIAA, gold in Canada by the CRIA, and platinum in the United Kingdom by the BPI. The Comfort Zone earned Williams five Grammy Award nominations.
The Sweetest Days, her third album, was released in 1994 to rave reviews. The Sweetest Days saw Williams branch out and sample other styles of music that included jazz, hip-hop, rock, and Latin-themed recordings such as “Betcha Never” and “You Can’t Run”, both written and produced by Babyface. Other singles from the album included the Adult Contemporary and Dance hit “The Way That You Love” and the title track “The Sweetest Days”. The album was certified platinum in the US by the RIAA and earned her two Grammy Award nominations.
Williams parlayed her ascendant music career into a theatrical role when she was cast in the Broadway production of Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1994.
Other albums include two Christmas albums, Star Bright released in 1996 and Silver and Gold in 2004; Next in 1997, and Everlasting Love in 2005, along with a greatest hits compilation released in 1998 and a host of other compilations released over the years.
Notable chart performances from subsequent albums, motion picture and television soundtracks have included the songs “Love Is”, “Colors of the Wind”, “Where Do We Go From Here“, and “Oh How the Years Go By”. In total, Williams has sold over six million records and received fifteen Grammy Award nominations.
Williams has appeared in several feature films. Her most prominent role was in the film Soul Food (1997), for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. She was also featured in the Tony-nominated and Drama Desk Award nominated performance as the Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods in a revival of the show in 2002, which included songs revised for her.
In 2007, it was also announced that Williams had signed with Concord Records. This same year, Williams also returned to the big screen starring in two independent motion pictures. The first being My Brother, for which she won Best Actress honors at the Harlem International Film Festival, the African-American Women in Cinema Film Festival and at the Santa Barbara African Heritage Film Festival, and the second being And Then Came Love. Williams received considerable media attention for her comic/villainess role as former magazine creative director turned editor-in-chief Wilhelmina Slater in the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty, produced by Salma Hayek. Her performance on the series resulted in a nomination for outstanding supporting actress at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2008, she was again nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for Ugly Betty.
Vanessa has been married twice. Her first marriage, to her then-manager Ramon Hervey II, was from 1987 to 1997. They have three children: Melanie (born 1987), Jillian (born 1989), and Devin (born 1993). Her second marriage was to former NBA basketball player Rick Fox. They married in September 1999 and have a daughter, Sasha Gabriella (born May 2000).
“One of the things that kept me out of trouble was doing something creative – creativity can’t be judged”.
– BEYONCE
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), commonly known as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.
Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles’ father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African-American, Native American, and French) descent. Knowles was baptized after her mother’s maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the elder sister of Solange, a singer-songwriter and actress.
Knowles was schooled at St. Mary’s Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent in singing was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes. Although a shy girl, as her mother considered her, Knowles’ interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after participating in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer. By age seven, Knowles had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon’s “Imagine”. She won the contest and was honored with a standing ovation.
In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform onstage with the school’s choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighborhood of Alief. Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John’s United Methodist Church. She only lasted in the choir for two years, however, because she was preoccupied with her newfound career.
At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for a girl group. They, along with Knowles’ friend Kelly Rowland, were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named Girl’s Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members. With Knowles and Rowland, Girl’s Tyme attracted audience nationally. West coast R&B producer, Arne Frager, flew into Houston to see them. He eventually brought them to his studio – The Plant Recording Studios – in Northern California, with Knowles’ vocals being featured because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. As part of efforts to sign Girl’s Tyme to a major label record deal, Frager’s strategy was to debut them in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV that time. Girl’s Tyme participated in the competition but lost it because the song they performed was not good, Knowles herself admitted. Knowles had her first “professional setback” after that defeat, but regained confidence after learning that pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also the same experience.
To manage the group, Knowles’ father (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job. He dedicated his time and established a “boot camp” for their training. The move reduced Knowles’ family’s income by half and her parents separated because of the pressure. Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four, with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993.Taking inspiration from a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group changed its name to Destiny’s Child.
Rehearsing in Tina’s salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time; Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout the Destiny’s Child era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records, only to be dropped months later before they could release an album.
Together, they performed in local events and, after four years on the road, the group was signed to Columbia Records in late 1997. That same year, Destiny’s Child recorded its major label debut song, “Killing Time”, for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.
The following year, the group released its self-titled debut album, scoring their first major hit “No, No, No”. That album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and winning the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for “Best R&B/Soul Single” for “No, No, No”, “Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year” and “Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist”.[13] However, the group rose to bona fide stardom after releasing their multi-platinum sophomore album The Writing’s on the Wall in 1999. The record features some of the group’s most widely known songs such as “Bills, Bills, Bills”, the group’s first number-one single, Jumpin’ Jumpin’“, and “Say My Name”, which became their most-successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. “Say My Name” won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 2001 Grammy Awards.The Writing’s on the Wall sold more than seven million copies, essentially becoming their breakthrough album.
Along with their commercial successes, the group became entangled in much-publicized turmoil involving the filing of a lawsuit by Luckett and Roberson for breach of contract. The issue was heightened after Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared on the video of “Say My Name”, implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced. Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months, as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.
After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded “Independent Women Part I“, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Charlie’s Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the official U.S. singles chart for eleven consecutive weeks. The success cemented the new lineup and skyrocketed them to fame. Later that year, Luckett and Roberson withdrew their case against their now-former band mates, while maintaining the suit against Mathew, which ended in both sides agreeing to stop public disparaging. Destiny’s Child’s third album, Survivor, channels the turmoil they underwent, spawning its eponymous lead single, which was a response to the experience. The themes of “Survivor”, however, caused Luckett and Roberson to refile their lawsuit, believing that the songs were aimed at them. However, the proceedings were eventually settled in June 2002. Meanwhile, the album was released in May 2001, debuting at number one on U.S. Billboard 200 with 663,000 units sold. To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. alone. The album spawned other number-one hits—”Bootylicious” and the title track, “Survivor”, the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo projects.
In early 2001, while Destiny’s Child was completing Survivor, Knowles landed a major role in the MTV made-for-television film, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring alongside American actor Mekhi Phifer. Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet. In 2002, Beyonce co-starred in the comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers. The movie topped the box office, gaining $73.1 million on its first weekend. She recorded her first solo single, “Work It Out”, for the film’s soundtrack. The following year, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the romantic comedy film The Fighting Temptations.
That same year, the songstress was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z’s hit single “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”. She also recorded a version of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and released it in March 2003. Luther Vandross and Knowles remade the duet “The Closer I Get to You”, which was originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977. Their version won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals the following year, and Vandross’ “Dance with My Father”, which also features Knowles, won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
She released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. Featuring many musical collaborators, the album contains a combination of uptempo and slow jam songs. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 317,000 copies in its first week. Certified 4x platinum on August 5, 2004 by the Recording Industry Association of America, the album has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United States.
The album yielded two number one singles. “Crazy in Love”, featuring a guest rap verse from Jay-Z, was released as the album’s lead single remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and topping many charts worldwide. Knowles also successfully dominated the United Kingdom, simultaneously topping the singles and album charts there. The album’s second single, “Baby Boy”, which features dancehall singer Sean Paul, also became one of the biggest hits of 2003, dominating U.S. radio airplay and spending nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—one week longer than “Crazy in Love”. Unlike “Crazy in Love”, the final three singles attained more immediate commercial successes, propelling the album to the top of the charts and going a long way toward it being certified multi-platinum.
Knowles won five awards at the 2004 Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “Dangerously in Love 2”, Best R&B Song for “Crazy in Love”, and the Best Contemporary R&B Album. She shares this distinction with four other female artists: Lauryn Hill (1999), Alicia Keys (2002) Norah Jones (2003) and Amy Winehouse (2008). In 2004, she won a BRIT Award for International Female Solo Artist.
After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for Destiny Fulfilled, released in November 2004. The album hit number two on the Billboard 200, and spawned thre top forty hits including “Lose My Breath”, “Soldier”. In support of the album, Destiny’s Child embarked on the 2005 Destiny Fulfilled … And Lovin’ It world tour, which started in April and ran through September. On the Barcelona, Spain visit, the group announced their disbandment after the end of their final North American leg. In October 2005, the group released a compilation album, entitled #1’s, including all of Destiny’s Child’s number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. The greatest hits collection also includes three new tracks, including “Stand Up for Love”. Destiny’s Child was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (in March 2006). They were also recognized as the world’s best-selling female group of all time.
In 2004, Knowles and her mother founded their family’s company Beyond Productions, which provides the licensing and brand management for House of Deréon. Beyonce and her mother introduced House of Deréon, a ready-to-wear contemporary women’s fashion line, in 2005. The concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name Deréon paying tribute to Beyonce’s grandmother, Agnèz Deréon, who worked as a seamstress. According to Tina Knowles, the overall style of the line best reflects Knowles’ taste and style. Launched in 2006, products of House of Deréon received public exhibitions during the group’s shows and tours during Destiny Fulfilled.
The singer and Kelly Rowland, along with the former’s family, founded the Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up to provide transitional housing for 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation extended the philanthropic mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston. Knowles donated $100,000 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, which benefits victims of Hurricane Ike in the Houston area. She is organizing a fund raising benefit for Hurricane Ike relief through the Survivor Foundation.
Continuing her film career, Knowles co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. The film was released on February 10, 2006, and debuted at number one at the box office, doing $21.7 million in ticket sales in its first week. Knowles recorded “Check on It” for the soundtrack to the film, featuring Slim Thug, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
In late 2005, Knowles again put her second album on hold after she landed a role in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes. In the film, she portrays the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. Knowles told Billboard magazine: “I’m not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie.” Released in December 2006, Dreamgirls stars Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film’s soundtrack, including the original song “Listen”. On December 14, 2006, she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film: Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song for “Listen”.
Inspired by her role in Dreamgirls, Knowles worked on her second album without any specific plan, telling MTV News, “[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas”. Beyonce worked with previous musical collaborators, including Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett, at the Sony Music Studios in New York City. She co-wrote and co-produced nearly all songs included in the album, which was completed in three weeks.
B’Day was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 and on September 5, 2006 in the United States to coincide with the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 541,000 copies in the first week, her highest first-week sales mark as a solo artist. The album has been certified three-times platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album spawned the UK number-one single “Déjà Vu”, the album’s lead single, featuring Jay-Z.” “Irreplaceable” was released in October 2006 as the album’s second single worldwide and third single in the U.S. “Irreplaceable” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her longest-running single to date. Although it was a commercial success, the relatively short-spanned production of the album was the subject of critical scrutiny.
Knowles re-released B’Day on April 3, 2007 as a deluxe edition, featuring five new tracks and Spanish-language versions of “Irreplaceable”, and “Listen”. Simultaneously, the B’Day Anthology was released featuring 10 music videos. In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her lengthy The Beyoncé Experience concert tour, visiting over ninety venues worldwide. B’Day won the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards. She made history at the 35th Annual American Music Awards for being the first woman to win an International Artist Award.
Knowles released her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, on November 18, 2008. Knowles says that the name Sasha Fierce is the name of the persona she adopts when she performs onstage. “I have someone else that takes over when it’s time for me to work and when I’m on stage, this alter ego that I’ve created that kind of protects me and who I really am.” In an interview with producer Rodney Jerkins, he said that the style of the album kept switching and was inspired by the musical biopic film, Cadillac Records, in which Knowles had been cast to play famed blues singer Etta James.
“If I Were a Boy” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, the first and second singles off I Am… Sasha Fierce, were released to radio on October 14, 2008, preceding the album’s release on November 18, 2008. While the single “If I Were a Boy” became her fourth UK number-one single, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” went on to top the Hot 100 chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her fifth number one single in the U.S. Knowles also filmed a movie starring opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba called Obsessed.
Beyonce performed on January 18, 2009 at the Lincoln Memorial festivities in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Knowles also sang her cover of the R&B classic most famously sang by Etta James, “At Last”, as President Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance as President and First lady of America, on January 20, 2009 at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.
” . . . the only way to live life is to live it. The only way to understand it is to look at it backwards. That’s why when you get older you’re so wise because you learned from all your mistakes . . . hopefully. But even if you don’t learn, you’re aware.”
– TARAJI P. HENSON
Taraji Penda Henson (born September 11, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy (2001), Shug in Hustle and Flow (2005), and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
Henson was born in Southeast Washington, DC, the daughter of Bernice, a manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Henson, a janitor. She is the great-granddaughter of Matthew Henson, one of the explorers who discovered the Geographic North Pole. Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin with her first name meaning “hope” and her middle name meaning “love.”
Henson attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, MD. She first attended NC A&T, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University. She worked two jobs — in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship – The Spirit of Washington- to pay for Howard University. She graduated with a degree in Theater Arts. Her son Marcel was born in 1995; his father, M.J. was murdered in 1997.
Henson has said in an interview that her philosophy in life is: “Love as often as you can. Dance like nobody’s watching. Travel. Eat. Try new foods because, like my character says, you never know what’s coming for you and when it’s time to let go, you got to let go.”
Ms. Henson has appeared in the films Four Brothers (2005), Talk To Me (2007), Smokin’ Aces (2007), Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys (2008),[8] and Not Easily Broken (2009). In late 2008, she starred opposite Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Henson plays the role of Queenie, Benjamin’s mother, in a performance which has garnered critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She noted in an interview that, “Queenie is the embodiment of unconditional love.”
Henson has also been a cast member on several television shows, including Lifetime Television’s The Division and ABC’s Boston Legal for one season. Her recurring appearances in television include the character Angela Scott on the ABC television show “Eli Stone” in December 2008. She has guest-starred on several television shows, such as The WB show Smart Guy playing the role of Monique (1997–1998), the Fox Television show House in 2005 and the CBS Television show CSI in 2006.
Taraji made her singing debut in Hustle & Flow; she provided the vocals for the Three 6 Mafia track “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp“. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 the distinction of becoming the first Black hip-hop act to win in the category. Henson performed the song at the Oscars on March 5, 2006 with the group.
Henson has made several appearances on music videos. Henson appeared in the rapper Common‘s music video called Testify in 2005 as the wife of a soon to be convicted murderer. On December 5, 2008, Jamie Foxx premiered his new music video “Just Like Me” on TBS featuring Henson and T.I.
Taraji has also won numerous awards, including, an NAACP Image Award, a Gotham Award, Black Movie Award, BET Award, and Austin Film Critics Association Award.
” I love to sing and I love to act. I don’t know how to do anything else! This is what I was born to do, this is my purpose, and I feel like I would be unfulfilled if I didn’t do it.”
– BRANDY
Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, fashion model, actress, television personality, and film producer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and discovered by Chris Stokes when she was a member of a youth singing group, Norwood released her self-titled debut album in 1994 at the age of fifteen.
Brandy is the elder of two siblings born to Willie Norwood, a former R&B singer and choir director, and his wife Sonja Bates-Norwood, a former district manager for H&R Block, in McComb, Mississippi.She is the sister of singer and actor William Raymond “Ray J” Norwood Jr.
Through her father’s work Brandy started singing at the Brookhaven Church of Christ in Brookhaven, Mississippi at an early age of two. By the time she was four, Norwood’s parents moved the family from McComb to Carson, California, in hopes of jump-starting careers for their children. Inspired by a spontaneous onstage performance with Diddley and Little Richard in the Los Angeles Forum at the age of six, Brandy began performing at many West Coast functions as part of a youth singing group and then, at 11, met manager Earl Harris and Chris Stokes who landed her gigs as a backing vocalist for the all-male groups such as Norment and the more successful teen R&B trio Immature. In 1993, while shopping around record companies, seeking a record deal, Norwood attended a party held by the Atlantic Recording Corporation. After performing in front of hundreds of people, an executive, Darryl Williams indicated interest in her persona and eventually offered Brandy a recording contract with Atlantic Records.
In 1993, while recording her debut album, Brandy landed the role of Danesha Turrell in the ABC sitcom Thea, playing the 12-year-old daughter of protagonist Thea Turrell (Thea Vidale). The series was taken off the screens eight months after its release but earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for “Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series.”
By the time Norwood was putting the final touches on her debut album with producers Keith Crouch and Darryl Williams, Atlantic Records decided to release “I Wanna Be Down” as the newcomer’s first outing. Although the singer was barely satisfied with her label’s debut single choice at the time of its release,[the song subsequently scored Brandy her first number-one hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, where it remained four weeks atop. Its success resulted in a remixed version of the song, containing new vocals by rappers Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo and MC Lyte, and boosted the sales of Norwood’s second number-one hit “Baby,” her first international top-10 entry. Her debut albumBrandy, a collection of hip hop soul-oriented pop tunes, reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B Albums chart. It eventually sold over four million copies domestically, and although the album’s success was limited elsewhere, it produced another two top 10 hits with “Best Friend” and “Brokenhearted.” Latter single, a re-done version with Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris, was recorded during Brandy’s two-month stint as the opening act on the group’s national tour.
Critical reaction to Brandy was generally positive, with Allmusic writer Eddie Huffman calling Brandy “a lower-key Janet Jackson or a more stripped-down Mary J. Blige […] with good songs and crisp production.” The album eventually earned Norwood two Grammy Award nominations for “Best New Artist” and “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance,” four Soul Train Music Awards, two Billboard Awards, and the New York Children’s Choice Award. The singer continued to soar the following two years, teaming up with Lenny Kravitz for the Batman Forever soundtrack and scoring another hit single with her Waiting to Exhale contribution, “Sittin’ Up in My Room” (1995). In 1996, Norwood also collaborated with Tamia, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight on the single “Missing You,” released from the Set It Off soundtrack. While not her biggest hit, the single did peak at number 25 on the pop chart, and earned Brandy her third Grammy nomination in the “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals” category.
Brandy received her first starring role in the UPN sitcom Moesha. Appearing alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph and Countess Vaughn, she played Moesha Mitchell, a typical 16-year-old girl from Los Angeles growing into adulthood. The show first aired in January 1996 on UPN and soon became the most watched show broadcast on the television network. Norwood who had not seen herself as an actress before, finally gained confidence: “I think Moesha is so much like me that I feel real comfortable.” (In 2001 the network canceled the show after six seasons on the air, leaving it ending with a cliffhanger for a scrapped seventh season.)
In 1997, Atlantic Records consulted upcoming producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins to contribute to Norwood’s second album Never Say Never, which was released on June 9, 1998 stateside. Brandy co-wrote and produced six songs on the album which yielded her first number-one song on the U.S. BillboardHot 100, “The Boy Is Mine,” a duet with singer Monica. Exploiting the media’s presumption of a rivalry between the two young singers, the song rose to one of the most successful records of the year, spending record-breaking thirteen weeks on top of the Billboard charts, and eventually garnered the pair a Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal“. The album’s success was equally widespread, and following extensive airplay of the single overseas, the label released it globally during the summer. Never Say Never eventually became Brandy’s biggest album, selling over fourteen million copies worldwide; and critics rated the album highly, with Allmusic`s Stephen Thomas Erlewine praising Brandy and her team for wisely finding “a middle ground between Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige — it’s adult contemporary with a slight streetwise edge.” Altogether the album spawned seven airplay and CD singles respectively, including Norwood’s second number-one song, Diane Warren-penned “Have You Ever?.”
In 1997, Norwood was hand-picked by executive producer Whitney Houston to play the title character in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s television version of Cinderella featuring a multi-cultural cast that also included Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters and Houston. The two-hour Wonderful World of Disney special garnered an estimated 60 million viewers, giving the network its highest ratings in the time period in 16 years, and won an Emmy Award. About filming Brandy later told Jet: “It was the best experience I could ever have.”
A year after, Brandy made her big screen debut after winning the supporting role of sassy Karla Wilson in the franchise-flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie outperformed the original with a total of 16.5 million at its opening weekend. Norwood earned positive reviews for her “bouncy” performance,[39] which garnered her both Blockbuster Entertainment Award and MTV Movie Award nominations for “Best Actress” and “Best Breakthrough Female Performance” respectively. In 1999, she co-starred with Diana Ross in the telefilm drama Double Platinum.
After a lengthy hiatus that saw the end of the Moeshasitcom, and a flurry of tabloid headlines discussing her bout with dehydration, Norwood returned to music when she and brother Ray-J were asked to record a cover version of Phil Collins’ 1980s hit “Another Day in Paradise” for the tribute album Urban Renewal: A Tribute to Phil Collins. Released as the album first single in Australia and Europe, the song became an instant international hit overseas, reaching the top 10 on the majority of all charts it appeared on.
During the following production of her third studio album, Norwood became romantically involved with producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith. The couple quietly “married” in the summer of 2001 but their union did not become known until February 2002—the same month Norwood revealed that she was expecting her first child. However, shortly after the birth of their daughter Sy’rai Iman Smith on June 16, 2002 — an event tracked by the four-part MTV reality seriesSpecial Delivery — Norwood “divorced” Smith. The “marriage” itself was later exposed as not of legal status but instead was used as a ruse to protect Brandy’s image. Norwood later stated that she regarded her relationship with Smith as a “spiritual union and true commitment to each other”. Full Moon, Norwood’s third studio album, was released in March 2002. It once again comprised a row of R&B and pop-oriented songs with adult contemporary, many of them co-created with Jerkins, Warryn Campbell and Mike City. While its lead single “What About Us?” became a worldwide top 10 hit, the album’s title track failed to chart or sell noticeably outside the United States and the UK, where it managed to enter the Top 20 of the single chart.
By the following year, Norwood had entered a relationship with New York Knicks guard Quentin Richardson. The couple soon got engaged in July 2004 but Brandy eventually ended her 15-month engagement with the NBA player in October 2005.
Returning from yet another musical hiatus, Brandy’s fourth album Afrodisiac was released on June 29, 2004 in North America, amidst both her weakest promotional blitz ever and the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina.Norwood ended her contract with his Los Angeles-based Handprint Entertainment after less than a year of representation following controversies surrounding Medina’s handling of the lead single “Talk About Our Love”, and failed talks of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher. Upon parting Norwood admitted her switch to Medina made her appreciate what she had with her mother, stating that “it was such a drastic change that it didn’t work for me. Nobody out there can match her passion for me.” Despite the negative blitz, Timbaland-produced Afrodisiac became Brandy’s most critically acclaimed album to date, with some citing the “more consistently mature and challenging” effect of Timbaland on Brandy’s music, and others calling it “very listenable and emotionally resonant”, comparing it to “Janet Jackson at her best”.
Norwood described the CD as her most mature and versatile effort by then: “I just wanted to sing my heart out and connect with people. I wasn’t old enough or mature enough before to get into people’s hearts. Now I am.” Nevertheless Afrodisiac became the least successful album of Brandy’s career: While it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 500,000 copies domestically, the album widely failed to chart or sell noticeably outside the United States. “Talk About Our Love” reached number 6 in the UK but follow-up singles failed to obtain success on the pop charts.
At the end of 2004, however, Norwood asked for and received a release from Atlantic Records, after eleven years with the company. As a direct consequence the label brought a collection of all of her singles, The Best of Brandy, on the market. “I think it’s awesome to have an album that reflects the songs that people have enjoyed over the years,” Brandy said in an interview the following year, “I’m happy to say that many of the tracks included are my favorites too.” Thereupon she reportedly started shopping for a new record deal under Knockout Entertainment, her brother’s label.
In June 2006, Norwood was cast as one of three talent judges on the first season of America’s Got Talent, an amateur talent contest on NBC with executive producer Simon Cowell and host Regis Philbin. In late 2006, TMZ broke the story that Brandy was involved in a wreck on a Los Angeles freeway on December 30. The accident claimed the life of 38-year-old Awatef Aboudihaj. An eyewitness tells TMZ Brandy was traveling at around 65 miles per hour but did not stop when traffic in front of her slowed. Brandy’s vehicle struck the vehicle in front of her and triggered a four car crash. There is no evidence of drugs or alcohol and she was not arrested. Although Brandy was not charged with vehicular manslaughter, due to “insufficient evidence”. Brandy was originally scheduled to return for a second season of the America’s Got Talent in summer 2007, but eventually decided to step down, feeling that “she couldn’t give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved”. She was eventually replaced by reality TV star Sharon Osbourne.
Brandy’s fifth studio album Human, her first release on Epic Records, was released on December 9, 2008 in North America. Involving a wide range of producers and songwriters such as Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, James Fauntleroy, Toby Gad, Brian Kennedy, and RedOne, among others, the album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and at number fifteen on the official Billboard 200, with moderately successful first week sales of 73,000 copies (about half as much as predecessor Afrodisiac). It was preceded by the album’s leading single “Right Here (Departed),” which was premiered on August 14, 2008 via Brandy’s official website; while a second single, “Long Distance,” was released to U.S. radios in October 2008. In addition, Brandy is also said to be in the works of a soundtrack for a yet-untitled sci-fi/action video game for PlayStation Portable (in which she will be providing the voice for the main character), as well as a collaboration album with brother Ray-J, tentatively titled R&B.
Monique Imes (born December 11, 1967), best known by her stage name Mo’Nique, is an American comedienne, actress, and reality television hostess.
Born in Woodlawn, Maryland , she is one of four children born to Steven Imes, Jr., and Alice Imes.Mo’Nique graduated from Milford Mill High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. She got her start in comedy when her brother dared her to perform at an open mic night and she was a big hit. Not long after she realized this was the path she wanted to pursue and would quit her job at the phone company in Baltimore. Before obtaining success in her chosen career, Mo’Nique worked as a phone sex operator.
She is best known for the role of Nicole “Nikki” Parker on the UPN television series The Parkers. The show ran from 1999 to 2004. Mo’Nique was subsequently featured on a number of leading stand-up venues, including stints on Showtime at the Apollo, Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam, and Thank God You’re Here. She was also named hostess of Showtime at the Apollo.
Her 2007 documentary Mo’Nique Behind Bars, focuses on women who are incarcerated. Mo’Nique touches on the common factors that bring many women into the penal system while interviewing women one-on-one. In the interviews, she does not shy away from the facts of what happened or excuse the actions of the inmates but she attempts to help the women see the worth they still hold. The documentary was in conjunction with the filming of a comedy special at the Ohio Reformatory for Women also known as The Farm. In 2007, she had a guest starring role on the hit television series, Ugly Betty as L’Amanda, Mode’s weekend security guard.
Mo’Nique has had a number of supporting roles in film, primarily aimed at urban audiences. She appears in the 2008 comedy film, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins with Martin Lawrence. She has had roles in Beerfest, 3 Strikes, Two Can Play That Game, Half Past Dead, and Garfield: The Movie, in which she voiced a CGI character. She also appeared in Baby Boy and Soul Plane.
In 2005, Mo’Nique played a significant role in the Tony Scott bounty hunter thriller Domino, co-starring Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke. In 2006, Mo’Nique was cast as the lead in Phat Girlz, a comedy about an aspiring plus size fashion designer struggling to find love and acceptance. The film is considered to be successful because it made its 3 million production budget back in its first weekend of release. The movie has since made under $10,000,000 in the U.S. and grossed over 14 million worldwide.
She was featured in soul singer Anthony Hamilton’s video “Sista Big Bones”, the second single from his Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ album. She plays the role of a beautiful plus sized woman whom Anthony secretly admires because she has always loved herself.
Mo’Nique hosted the 2003 and 2004 BET Awards and appeared as the host again for the 2007 BET Awards. She tore down the house in 2004 and 2007 with openings impersonating Beyoncé‘s famous “Crazy in Love” dance and her dances from “Dé Jà Vu”.
Mo’Nique claimed on the January 28, 2008 Oprah Winfrey Show that Martin Lawrence gave her invaluable advice about show business: “He pulled me to the side and he said, ‘Listen, don’t ever let them tell you what you can’t have.’ Since that day, I’ve made some of the best deals I’ve ever made in my career because it keeps ringing in my head . . . it will stay with me forever.”
Mo’Nique acts in Push (2009 drama film), premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and based on the novel Push by Sapphire; also in the film are Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. Mo’Nique plays the mother of the main character, played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe; the film is directed by Lee Daniels. At Sundance Mo’Nique was awarded a special jury prize for acting in her role as Mary.
Mo’Nique’s first play was Eve Ensler’s Obie Award-winning production of The Vagina Monologues, in March 2002. Mo’Nique, along with Ella Joyce (Roc); Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Steve Harvey Show & The Game) and Vanessa Bell Calloway (What’s Love Got to Do with It), were the first all black celebrity cast to perform The Vagina Monologues. Executive produced by YYP & Associates, LLC, the show was produced and directed by noted theater producer/director, Yetta Young. A phenomenal woman.
Mo’Nique is the author of the best-selling book Skinny Women Are Evil: Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World. She also released a 2006 cookbook called Skinny Cooks Can’t Be Trusted. In 2008 she wrote, together with Sherri McGee McCovey, Beacon Hills High for teen girls.
Mo’Nique began her radio career in 2006 when she temporarily substituted for afternoon personality Michael Baisden when his contract with ABC Radio was in the process of getting renewed. In 2008, Radio One inked a deal for her to get her own radio show, called Mo’Nique In the Afternoon (or The Mo’Nique Show) which premiered on several Radio One-owned Urban Adult Contemporary-formatted R&B/soul radio stations in July 2008.
Lola Falana (born Loletha Elaine Falana on September 11, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American dancer and actress of Cuban and African American descent. Falana’s father left Cuba to become a welder in the United States, where he met his wife. Falana spent most of her childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
By the age of three she was dancing, and by age five she was singing in the church choir. By the time she was in junior high school, she was already dancing in nightclubs to which she was escorted by her mother. Pursuing a musical career became so important to Falana that, against her parents’ wishes, she left Germantown High School (Philadelphia) a few months before graduation and moved to New York City.
Her first dancing gig was at “Small’s Paradise” in Harlem. Dinah Washington, the “Queen of Blues”, was influential in fostering Lola’s early career.
While dancing in a nightclub, Falana was discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., who gave her a featured role in his 1964 Broadway musical Golden Boy. Lola’s first single, “My Baby”, was recorded for Mercury Records in 1965. Later in her career she recorded under Frank Sinatra’s record label. In the late 1960s Falana was mentored by Davis. In 1966 Davis cast her, along with himself, Ossie Davis, and Cicely Tyson, in her first film role in the film, A Man Called Adam.
Falana became a major star of Italian cinema beginning in 1967. In Italy she learned to speak fluent Italian while starring in three movies, the first of which was considered a spaghetti western. She was known as the “Black Venus”. During this time she was busy touring with Davis as a singer and dancer, making films in Italy, and reprising her role in Golden Boy during its revival in London.
In 1970, Falana made her American film debut in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actress for her performance. That same year she posed for Playboy magazine. She was the first black woman to model for a line of cosmetics that was not targeted solely to blacks, in the successful FabergeTigress perfume ads. In those early years, she also starred in a few movies considered to be of the blaxploitation genre.
American TV audiences became familiar with Falana during the early 1970s. She often appeared on The Joey Bishop Show and The Hollywood Palace, displaying her talent for music, dance, and light comedy. These appearances led to more opportunities.
She was the first supporting player hired by Bill Cosby for his much-anticipated variety hour, The New Bill Cosby Show, which made its debut on September 11, 1972 (her 30th birthday) on CBS. Cosby had met Falana in his college days, when he was a struggling comic and she was a 14-year-old dancing for $10 dollars a show in Philadelphia nightclubs. Throughout the mid-1970s Falana made guest appearances on many popular TV shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Laugh-In and The Flip Wilson Show. She also starred in her own television specials.
In 1975 her disco record “There’s A Man Out There Somewhere” reached #67 on the Billboard R&B chart. That same year, she returned to Broadway as the lead in the musical Doctor Jazz. Although the production closed after just five performances, Lola was nominated for a Tony Award and won the 1975 Theater World Award.
With help from Sammy Davis, Falana brought her act to Las Vegas and became a top draw there. By the late 1970s, she was considered the Queen of Las Vegas. She played to sold-out crowds at The Sands, The Riviera, and the MGM Grand hotels. Finally The Aladdin offered her $100,000 a week to perform. At the time, Falana was the highest paid female performer in Las Vegas. Her show ran twenty weeks a year and became a major tourist attraction.
While still playing to sell-out crowds in Las Vegas, Falana joined the cast of a short-lived CBS soap opera, Capitol.
Soon after the show was cancelled in 1987, she suffered a major setback; a relapse of multiple sclerosis. Falana’s relapse was severe; her left side was paralyzed, she became partially blind, and her voice and hearing were impaired. Recovery lasted a year and a half, during which she spent most of her time praying. Falana attributes her recovery to a spiritual experience which she described as “Being able to feel the presence of the Lord.”
She converted to Roman Catholicism and worked her newly found spirituality into her everyday life. Though she performed again in Las Vegas shows in 1987, her practice of religion and faith became the center of her life.
After another bout with multiple sclerosis in 1996, Falana returned to Philadelphia and lived with her parents for a short time. No longer performing, she now tours the country with a message of hope and spirituality. When not on tour, she lives a quiet life in Las Vegas working on the apostolate she founded, The Lambs of God Ministry. The ministry is focused on helping children who have been orphaned in Sub-Saharan Africa, and works closely with the group Save Sub-Saharan Orphans.
Her last known musical performance was in 1997, at Wayne Newton’s theater in Branson, Missouri.
“According to the casting world, I’m a black actress. But I always say that I’m a woman of color – several colors, because I’m black and Jewish. And that’s been a great blessing in my life.”
“One of the things that kept me out of trouble was doing something creative – creativity can’t be judged”. 
” . . . the only way to live life is to live it. The only way to understand it is to look at it backwards. That’s why when you get older you’re so wise because you learned from all your mistakes . . . hopefully. But even if you don’t learn, you’re aware.”
” I love to sing and I love to act. I don’t know how to do anything else! This is what I was born to do, this is my purpose, and I feel like I would be unfulfilled if I didn’t do it.”
Monique Imes (born December 11, 1967) , best known by her stage name Mo’Nique, is an American comedienne, 
Lola Falana (born Loletha Elaine Falana on September 11, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American 
The Diamond Trail 