Biography

           Grace Gilliam was born on April 23, 1985 to two wonderful parents by the names of Juanita and Gregory Gilliam Sr. She has an older loving brother named Gregory Jr. who supports her in all of her endeavors.

  At the age of four, Grace attended Whitcomb Court Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia where she discovered her talent for singing.  One day during the Christmas season in her second grade class, the teachers decided to have tryouts for the song "Joy to The World" for a Christmas Concert.  Grace decided to tryout for the solo, and when she finished the class erupted into applause.  At that instant she had the solo.  When she finally performed in front of the school she received a standing ovation.  After the program a student told her, “You were so good, you should become a singer or something.”  Grace would never forget those words.

  Grace and her family moved from the city of Richmond to Chesterfield County near the end of 3^rd grade.  She attended Hopkins Road Elementary in 4^th grade and sung in the school's choir.   She received many solos and in the 5^th grade even won a song-writing contest. She believed that maybe what the kid said after the Christmas concert was true.

 At Falling Creek Middle School there was so much to do.  Grace joined the basketball and track teams, and of course she was a part of the chorus.  She excelled in all of these areas with solos, starting positions, and district honors, but one day she realized she wanted to be in the WNBA.  The dream of her being a singer had been placed on hold.

  When Grace finally made it to Meadowbrook High School she was known for her singing and sports excellence.  She was the only freshman accepted into the girls show choir, and she was captain of the J.V. basketball team.  Grace still had that goal of being in the WNBA, then came the dreadful 11^th grade year.  Grace had been working hard all summer on her basketball game trying to stay in good condition and working more on her handling skills for the upcoming winter season.  When tryouts came around Grace performed well, blocking shots and drilling threes.  However, something went wrong.  The list of names was placed on the top of the door for varsity sports and her name was not on it.  Spectators were amazed, players were astonished, and Grace was heart broken; but she refused to show it.  With tears waiting to escape, she rode home head high to disguise her true emotions.  Her WNBA dream vanished forever at that moment.

  Grace continued to sing and was promoted to Showin’ Off, the highest show choir in the school.  In this choir they sung, danced, and competed in various show choir competitions.  Each year she had a solo.  Grace always loved to perform.  She loved hyping up the audience, dancing, and just being on the stage.  One day while watching Sister Act II, Whoopi Goldberg said, "If you wake up in the morning and all you want to do is sing, then you are a singer."  Those words made a profound impact on the direction of Grace's life.  She then realized exactly who she was and what she wanted to do.

  In the summer before her 12^th grade year, she had an opportunity to help in a summer performing arts camp.  There were many successful singers, producers, and magazine companies participating at the camp.  She even had the chance to meet and exchange numbers with Mario, a singing sensation of the time.  The people at this camp encouraged her to pursue her dream, but told her that it wouldn’t be easy.  Grace wouldn’t even begin to imagine the meaning of those words until the fall of her senior year.

While watching TRL on MTV, Carson Daily asked Will Smith what made him so great.  Will answered, "I am no more talented than anyone else in this world.  What makes me stand above the rest is that I will not eat or sleep until I perfect my craft."  Hearing those words provided the confidence Grace needed to continue in her pursuit of music.

 Grace had been writing songs since elementary school, but in her 12^th grade year she would write about four songs a day. Grace always believed that the best songs were the ones that came from her own heart.  Grace continued to sing and write, but she wasn’t getting in a studio.  She finally found a friend who needed a hook for a project that he was working on.  She went to the studio with him and produced a track.  It was absolutely wonderful.  Then Grace began going to the studio to work on her demo.  It never took long because Grace was always prepared before a studio session.  "Time is money," is what she always said with a smile.

As of now, Grace is preparing for Morgan State University in the fall of 2003.  She will be majoring in Television Broadcasting while endeavoring to land a recording contract.  Singing is a major part of her life and has always been.  Grace is not a quitter, and will continue to work until her dream finally becomes a reality.  If she could say one thing to encourage others it would be “Nothing is impossible if you believe.”