Brandy Norwood

Brandy Norwood is a well-known American singer-songwriter, actress, and model. Brandy Norwood has received a Grammy Award and an American Music Award among others.

Early Life

Brandy Norwood was born on 11 February 1979 and she is currently 43 years old. Her full name is Brandy Rayana Norwood and she hails from McComb, Mississippi. Talking about her family, her father is Willie Norwood and her mother is Sonja Norwood (née Bates). Moreover, her father is a gospel singer and choir director whereas her mother is a district manager for H&R Block.

Similarly, she has a brother named Ray J (William Ray Norwood Jr,). Also, she is the cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg and WWE wrestler Sasha Banks. After relocating to Carson, California in 1983 with her family, this personality attended the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center.

Caption: Brandy Norwood posing for a photo with her mother. Source: Instagram

Career and Professional Life

Professionally, Brandy Norwood is a famous singer-songwriter, actress, as well as a model. People recognize her more by her mononym Brandy. Talking about the beginning of her career in music, this personality began singing through her father’s work as part of the local church choir. As such, Norwood performed her 1st gospel solo at the young age of 2 years. She then started to enter talent shows by the age of 11 years. As a part of a youth singing group, she also performed at several public functions.

In the year 1990, Norwood signed with Teaspoon Productions. They gave Norwood work as a backing vocalist for their R&B boy band “Immature”. They also arranged the production of a demo tape for Norwood. Then in the year 1993, her parents organized a recording contract with the Atlantic Recording Corporation after she auditioned for Darryl Williams. To manage her daughter, the singer’s mother resigned from her job. Also, the singer also dropped out of Hollywood High School and started private tutoring from the 10th grade.

Furthermore, people recognize Norwood for her distinctive sound which is characterized by her peculiar timbre, intricate riffs, and voice-layering. Her voice has earned Norwood the title of “the Vocal Bible”. As of August 2020, this singer has sold more than 40 million records worldwide. She has sold approximately 8.62 million albums in the United States alone.

Likewise, Norwood’s work has earned her numerous awards and accolades. Some of them are a Grammy Award and an American Music Award. After this singer started working with Atlantic Records in 1993, Norwood released her self-titled debut album the following year. She sold six million copies of this album worldwide.

Furthermore, this personality ventured into acting with Moesha whom she worked from 1996 to 2001. This project won Norwood an NAACP Image Award. Following this, she played the titular character in the TV film Cinderella and Karla Wilson in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

Caption: Brandy Norwood during her performance at the LA Pride Festival performance. Source: Billboard

More Details

One of her most popular singles is The Boy Is Mine which was released in 1998. It is a duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica. This single went on to become one of the best-selling female duets of all time. Norwood’s 2nd album is Never Say Never and it won this singer her 1st Grammy Award.

Then in the year 2002, this personality starred in Brandy: Special Delivery. With this, she documented the birth of her daughter. Norwood’s 3rd and 4th albums are Full Moon and Afrodisiac which were released in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

Additionally, this singer was a judge on the 1st season of America’s Got Talent. It was prior to her heavily publicized car accident in the year 2006. The singer’s 5th album is Human and it was released in 2008. Then in 2010, the singer returned to TV as a contestant on the 11th season of Dancing with the Stars. She also starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business.

Also, Norwood was a series regular in The Game from 2012 to 2015. She then released her 6th album Two Eleven in 2012. Further, in April 2015, the singer made her Broadway debut. She did so by playing the role of Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago.

Moreover, Norwood starred in and executive produced a sitcom called Zoe Ever After. This sitcom premiered in January 2016 on BET. Similarly, in July 2020, this personality released her 7th studio album called B7. It was Norwood’s 1st project as an independent artist. Recently in 2021, this singer starred alongside Nadine Velazquez, Naturi Naughton, and Eve in Queens.  

Caption: Brandy Norwood posing for a photo with the co-stars of Queens. Source: TV Insider

Relationship Status

Brandy Norwood briefly dated Kobe Bryant in 1996 and also accompanied Kobe to his prom at Lower Merion High School. She then dated Wanya Morris – the lead singer of Boyz II Men. Norwood has cited Morris as her first love. During her collaboration with rapper Mase, the two also briefly dated each other while working on the Never Say Never album.

Likewise, she dated producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith while working on her album Full Moon in mid-2001. With Robert, Norwood shares a daughter named Sy’rai Iman Smith. Until the announcement of their pregnancy in February 2002, the couple kept their relationship secret. However, after a year of their daughter’s birth, the lovers went their separate ways.

The singer was in a relationship with Quentin Richardson. With Richardson, Norwood was engaged in July 2004. However, the singer ended their 14-month engagement in September 2005. Then in 2010, the singer briefly dated rapper Flo Rida.

At the end of 2012, the singer was engaged to Ryan Press – a music executive. However, she called off this engagement in April 2014 after their breakup earlier the same year. As of now, she seems to be single.

Caption: Brandy Norwood posing for a photo with her daughter. Source: Instagram

Body Measurements

Brandy Norwood stands tall at an approximate height of 5 feet 7 inches or 170 cm and her weight is around 52 kg or 115 lbs. Likewise, this singer has a chest-waist-hip measure of 34-23-34 inches respectively. Further, Norwood has dark brown hair and eyes of the same color.

Social Media and Net Worth

Brandy Norwood joined Twitter in March 2009 and so far has over 3.2 million followers on her @4everBrandy account. Likewise, her @brandy Instagram has over 5.5 million followers. The singer also has over 6.6 million followers on her Facebook profile. She created her Youtube channel on 26 November 2007. So far, her “Brandy” Youtube channel has over 46.9 million views and 910K subscribers. Moving on, this singer has a net worth of around $12 million US dollars.

Source: Mask