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.
Following a major success with
Grammy Award-winning "
The Boy Is Mine," a duet with singer
Monica and her second album
Never Say Never in 1998, a series of hit records established her position as one of the most successful of the new breed of urban R&B female vocalists to emerge in the mid-to late
1990s. The
RIAA ranks Norwood as one of the best-selling female artists in American music history, having sold over 10.5 million copies of her four studio albums in the United States
and over 25 million albums worldwide, to date.
Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist.
While maintaining a recording career Norwood also gained fame for starring in several
film and
television productions, including popular
UPN sitcom Moesha (1996-2001), a supporting role in the 1998
horror sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and starring roles in a 1997 version of
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
Cinderella and
Double Platinum, two of television's highest rated special programs.
