Brandy Norwood was born on February 11, 1979 in Macomb, Mississippi, the daughter of Willie Norwood, a church music director, and Sonja, a financial analyst. Brandy began her career by singing in her family church at the age of two. When she first heard Whitney Houston sing, she told her dad that she wanted to go out and sing like her. When Brandy was four years old, the Norwood family moved out to Carson, California to pursue the youngster’s dream. By age 11, Brandy was performing in talents shows and at community & charity events when she met a producer who took her to auditions at various record labels. At age 14, she signed with Atlantic Records, the same label which produced Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.
With her mother acting as her manager, Brandy’s self-titled 1994 debut album ("Brandy") was released when she was 15; it was certified gold in just two months, and went on to be triple platinum - selling more than 3 million copies. Her biggest hits have been "Baby", "I Wanna Be Down", "Brokenhearted", and "Sitting In My Room". She was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist of 1996, and she won the Soul Train Video Award for Best New Artist. She made a video with Boys II Men, a duet with Lenny Kravitz ("Where Are You Now" on the Batman Forever soundtrack), and was on the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack. Brandy has also performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Her career as an actress has also taken off like a rocket. In 1990, she appeared in the movie, “Arachnophobia”, when she was just 11 years old. In 1993, she had a small role in the Sly Stallone movie “Demolition Man”. That same year, she moved to television, playing the daughter, Denesha, on the now-defunct ABC sitcom, “Thea”. Brandy then accepted a starring role as the lead in “Moesha”, a UPN sitcom which premiered in January of 1996. In 1997, she starred in a new version of “Cinderella” on ABC's “The Wonderful World of Disney”.
But success hasn’t spoiled Brandy Norwood.
According to everyone who has met her, Brandy remains a smart, sensible young woman. She still lives at home in Carson with her mother, father and her 15-year-old brother (who is also an actor). She says she won’t date seriously until she’s 18. She made straight-A’s in high school, and she plans to become a lawyer after college (she has already enrolled at Princeton). When she was 16, she went on a four week national high school tour, performing and talking to kids about the importance of staying in school, staying off drugs, and protecting the environment. Quincy Jones calls her “mature way beyond her years”. Yet like any teenager, she loves to shop, she adores the video “Clueless”, and she is still hopelessly starstruck - although she has known Whitney Houston for over a year, she still screams every time the singer phones her. Besides Whitney, Brandy loves Michael Jackson and also admires Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton.
