Brandy
Brandy
as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics

Actor Biography

Born to a musical family, Brandy, the Mississippi-born daughter of Willie and Sonja Norwood, became one of the most successful multimedia stars of the '90s thanks to her constant presence on both the pop and R&B charts, her popular hit sitcom "Moesha" and the classic made-for-TV movie phenomenon "Cinderella" (starring Whitney Houston), which attracted more than 60 million viewers and broke new ground with its multicultural cast.

Since emerging with her 3x-platinum self-titled debut album in 1994 (released when Brandy was only 15 years old), this trailblazing pioneer has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide (including the 5x-platinum-selling "Never Say Never") and is ranked one of the bestselling female artists in American music history by the RIAA, having sold over 11 million albums in the United States. During her reign, she recorded five albums: "Never Say Never" (1998), "Full Moon" (2002), "Afrodisiac" (2004), "Human" (2008) and "Two Eleven" (2012).

Brandy has also earned scores of awards, including a GRAMMY®, an AMA, two Soul Train Music Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, three Billboard Awards, four MTV Awards, six Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, two Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and three BMI Awards. While maintaining a recording career, she also gained fame for starring in several film and TV projects including the popular UPN sitcom "Moesha" (1996-2001), a 1997 version of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," a supporting role in the 1998 horror sequel "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," BET's series "The Game" and as a judge on the No. 1-rated talent competition "America's Got Talent." All of this success landed Brandy features in Billboard, Uptown Magazine, Essence Magazine, NY Daily News, Rolling Stone, The Today Show, PlayBill, and more. Additionally, she has also been a spokesmodel for Cover Girl, DKNY and Ultima/Kaneka brand by Brandy.

Taking things to the next level in spring 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the Tony® Award-winning, record-breaking musical smash "Chicago" as Roxie Hart. "Chicago" is the No. 1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history and Brandy is now a part of that history.

At the top of 2016, Brandy released "Beggin & Pleadin," a bluesy trap-soul melody that was greeted with much admiration. Her first studio album in eight years, "b7," was released on July 31, 2020, to critical and fan acclaim, and debuted at No. 1 on the Independent and Current R&B Charts. Recently, Brandy teamed up with singer Monica in a Verzuz celebration. The celebration of R&B and the culture garnered 6 million views and 5 billion impressions on the virtual platform, making it the most-viewed Verzuz battle to date.