Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Brandy Norwood
Brandy Norwood
Brandy
Brandy in 2011
Born
Other names
B Rocka
Bran'Nu (2008-2011)
Singer
Occupation
actress
model
songwriter
record producer
Years active
1993present
Home town
Children
Parent(s)
Willie Norwood
Sonja Norwood
Relatives
Ray J (brother)
Snoop Dogg (first cousin)
Bo Diddley (cousin),
Daz Dillinger (cousin),
Sasha Banks (cousin)
Website
4everbrandy.com
Musical career
Genres
R&B
pop
gospel
soul
hip hop
Labels
Atlantic
Epic
Knockout
RCA
Chamaleon
Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer,
songwriter, record producer and actress.[1] Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi and raised
in Carson, California, she began her career as a child and performed as a backing vocalist for teen groups. In
1993, Norwood signed with Atlantic Records. The following year, she released her self-titled debut album, which
was certified quadruple Platinum in the US, selling six million copies worldwide. Norwood starred in
the UPN sitcom Moesha as the title character, which lasted six seasons and resulted in numerous other roles.
She resumed her music career in 1998 with the widely successful duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica,
"The Boy Is Mine", which went on to become the best selling female duet of all time, and one of the longest
running number one singles in history. Her second album,Never Say Never sold 16 million copies worldwide,
featured two number one singles, and earned Norwood her first Grammy Award. This launched her into
international stardom, with films, endorsements, sold out concert tours, and her own line of Barbie dolls.
Throughout the 2000s, Norwood held a precarious position in the pop industry. In 2002, she starred in the reality
series Brandy: Special Delivery, documenting the birth of her daughter. Her third and fourth albums, Full
Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004), were released to critical and commercial success. She served as a judge on
the first season of America's Got Talent before being involved in a widely publicized car accident in 2006. After
several lawsuits stemming from the accident, Norwood's fifth album Human (2008) was released to commercial
failure.
In the 2010s, Norwood received a critical and commercial resurgence. In 2010, she returned to television as a
contestant on theeleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A
Family Business. In 2012 she became a series regular in the BET series The Game, and released her sixth
album Two Eleven to critical praise. In April 2015, Norwood made her Broadway debut in the musical Chicago.
She starred in and executive produced a new sitcom Zoe Ever After on the BET networkin January 2016.