Brandy Norwood

Brandy Rayana Norwood was born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, to proud parents Sonja Bates and Willie Norwood Sr. She has a younger brother Ray J., and after his birth, Brandy's father landed a job as a music director in a church in California, prompting the family to relocate to Carson, the 'burbs of LA.

As is no surprise, while growing up, Brandy was always singing in the church choir. But it wasn't until she caught a glimpse of diva Whitney Houston singing "How Will I Know?" that Brandy realized that she wanted to sing professionally. She was, however, only seven years old at the time.

Nevertheless, Brandy began her hunt for a record contract throughout a wide array of record companies, but it wasn't until much later that she landed a record deal with famed Atlantic Recording Corporation.

Unfortunately, when Brandy was invited to sing at an Atlantic party, no one paid her any mind. But luckily, because she is an outspoken individual, she expressed to the audience that they were being rude. In turn, the audience listened attentively as Brandy showed off her vocal talents and she ultimately ended up catching the attention of a record executive. Hence, the record deal with Atlantic Records when she hit 14 years of age.

Whilst her record deal was in the works, Brandy began playing the role of a girl named Danesha on the sitcom Thea. Regrettably, the show was cancelled only eight months after its initial airing. But Brandy wasn't too disappointed as her new album was well on its way.

In 1994, Brandy released her first album simply entitled Brandy, and singles such as "Baby", "I Wanna Be Down" and "Brokenhearted" remained on the music charts for weeks. The single "Baby" was even nominated for Best R&B Single at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

In 1995, Brandy made her way back to television in the starring role of Moesha, in the sitcom of the same name. The show made its way to becoming the most watched program on the UPN network. Life was great for Brandy; her album already went platinum and she was starring in a successful sitcom.