Brandy Rayana Norwood, was born in Mississippi. She started singing in the church choir along with her dad, Willie Norwood. He's the one who's responsible for giving Brandy the confidence she needed to want to sing professionally. She initially started with acting, she played a role on the short-lived 90s sitcom "Thea" from 1993-1994. Afterwards she focused on her singing career as a teen. Her debut self-titled album "Brandy" dropped in the fall of 1994. Her first single from the album "I Wanna Be Down" was a major hit on the charts. Brandy has been in the music industry since 1994.