Brandy

Brandy Rayana Norwood was born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, the daughter of Willie Norwood, a gospel singer and choir director, and Sonja Norwood (née Bates), a district manager for H&R Block. Norwood is the older sister of entertainer Ray J. Through her mother, she is related to guitarist and singer Bo Diddley, her third cousin. Rapper Snoop Dogg has claimed that he and Norwood are cousins, though Norwood has stated she is unsure if they are actually related. She is also reported to be a cousin of wrestler Mercedes Moné and rapper Daz Dillinger.

Raised in a Christian household, Norwood started singing through her father's work as part of the choir at Southside Church of Christ, performing her first gospel solo at the age of two. In 1983, her parents relocated to Carson, California, where she was schooled at Bancroft Junior High School and later attended the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center. Norwood's interest in music and performing increased after becoming a fan of singer Whitney Houston at the age of seven, but at school, she experienced trouble with persuading teachers to send her on auditions as she found no support among the staff.

Norwood began entering talent shows by the time she was eleven, and, as part of a youth singing group, performed at several public functions. In 1990, she signed with Teaspoon Productions, headed by Chris Stokes and Earl Harris, who gave her work as a backing vocalist for their R&B boy band Immature and arranged the production of a demo tape. In 1993, amid ongoing negotiations with East West Records, Norwood's parents organized a recording contract with the Atlantic Recording Corporation after auditioning for Darryl Williams, the company's director of A&R. To manage her daughter, Norwood's mother resigned from her job, while Norwood herself dropped out of Hollywood High School, and was tutored privately from tenth grade onward.