Brandy

Brandy (born Brandy Rayana Norwood on February 11, 1979) is an African American pop/R&B singer and actress. She is best known for her starring role in the UPN sitcom Moesha, and for hit records such as "Sittin'

Brandy (born Brandy Rayana Norwood on February 11, 1979) is an African American pop/R&B singer and actress. She is best known for her starring role in the UPN sitcom Moesha, and for hit records such as "Sittin' Up in My Room", "Have You Ever", and "The Boy is Mine", a top-selling duet with Monica.

Norwood was born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California. Her father, Willie Ray Norwood, was a pastor and choir director, and by the age of two, she was singing at his church. Her mother, Sonja Bates, is a cousin of legendary blues singer Bo Diddley. Brandy became a fan of Whitney Houston, and she told her father that she wanted to be a singer, like Houston. At the age of four, the Norwoods moved to California, where Brandy began her artistic career singing at talent shows in 1990. At 11, she met a record producer who took her to various record companies and led her to backup singing jobs with two groups: Norment and the more successful Immature.