Brandy Rayana Norwood was born in McComb, Mississippi on February 11, 1979. She has a successful, if somewhat rocky, career as a singer and television star. Brandy is a very family-focused artist, her parents have taken a key part in her career and she has stayed close to her brother, who has also gained notoriety as the rap/hip-hop star Ray-J. Despite her fame she has tried to stay true to herself, making sure that she does not continue with anything if it is not something that exemplifies her life and character.Growing up Brandy appeared in award shows and specials and eventually co-starred in the ABC sitcom Thea, which unfortunately only lasted for a season. She signed her first contract at the age of 14, with Atlantic Recording Corporation after catching the attention of one of the executives. The following year Brandy released her self-titled debut album, which was immediately successful. Brandy became one of the biggest and brightest stars of the ‘90s.The success of her first album gave Brandy the edge she needed to fulfill further aspirations. The following year her single "Sitting Up In My Room," which was recorded for the soundtrack of Waiting To Exhale, became a blockbuster hit. Following that the growing artist returned to television as the star in the hit TV show Moesha, which first aired in 1996. The show was the most successful TV show that UPN had seen so far.Following Moesha Brandy appeared in Witney Houston's television adaptation of Rogers and Hamerstein's Cinderella. The movie was wildly successful, becoming one of Disney's most watched TV Movies. Since then Brandy has continued to have successes. Her most recent album is Afrodisiac which was released in 2004. Since then she has taken some time off following a car-crash in L.A. and is currently working on a new album, Human, which will be released on November 11, 2008.