Tionne Watkins

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Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins
Birth name Tionne Tenese Watkins
Also known as T-Boz, Cool, T
Born April 26, 1970 (1970-04-26) (age 41)
Des Moines, Iowa United States
Origin Atlanta, Georgia
United States
Genres R&B, hip-hop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actress, poet, author, executive producer
Years active 1991–present
Labels LaFace
Arista
Associated acts TLC, Lisa Lopes, Rozonda Thomas, Keith Sweat, Da Brat
Website www.boz-bizz.com

Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970)[1] better known by her stage name T-Boz, is a four-time Grammy Award–winning American singer-songwriter, actress, author, poet, and executive producer who rose to fame as the lead singer and one-third of the R&B/Hip-Hop girl group TLC.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins was born in Des Moines, Iowa. She is of African American and Native American descent.[2][3] As a child, Watkins was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia; her parents both have the homozygous recessive trait which one in 12 people of African descent have.[4] Since the age of seven, Watkins has been in and out of hospitals due to her condition.[4] Watkins' family moved from Des Moines to Atlanta, Georgia, when she was nine years old. Because of her disease Watkins was not expected to live past her 30s.

[edit] Career history

[edit] TLC

Atlanta-local named Crystal Jones held auditions for a local group, who chose Watkins, and Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes eventually attracted the attention of Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her husband, LaFace Records chief Antonio "L.A." Reid. L.A. Reid replaced Jones with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and the group was signed in 1991 as TLC, which would go on to become one of the most successful girl groups in history and sell 45 million records worldwide.

In late 2011, VH1 announced plans to produce a biopic on TLC to air in 2012.[5] Watkins and Thomas have signed on as producers.

[edit] Television and film

In addition to her work with TLC, Watkins recorded solo singles, including: "Touch Myself" (For the soundtrack of the 1996 film Fled) and "My Getaway" (for the soundtrack to the 2000 film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie.) In addition, she has been a featured vocalist on such songs as: "Ghetto Love" with Da Brat, "Changes" with Society of Soul, "He Say She Say" with Keith Sweat, "Different Times" with Raphael Saadiq and "Be Somebody" with Paula Cole. Watkins has appeared on a song by her TLC bandmate Rozonda Thomas, entitled "Gameproof".

Watkins has worked as an actress, appearing in Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly. Along with her TLC bandmates, she also appeared in an episode of Living Single. Watkins also served as one of the executive producers for the 2006 movie ATL featuring the rapper, T.I..[6] She was also featured in the music video for "It's Good" with YoungBloodZ, and appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Kandi Burruss. T-Boz was a contestant in The Celebrity Apprentice, where she was fired for volunteering to come back into the boardroom. After referencing a previous contestant who was fired from the show for the same action, Donald Trump told her, "Never volunteer for an execution."[citation needed]

[edit] Other work

Watkins published a book of semi-autobiographical poetry called Thoughts on November 3, 1999.[7][8] In 2005, Watkins and stylist Tara Brivic Rowntree opened a children's boutique called Chase's Closet (named after her daughter).[citation needed]

[edit] Personal life

Initially withholding details of her ailment from others, Watkins went public with the disease in 1996, and later became one of the spokespeople for Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.[4] In 2002, she was hospitalized for four months, due to a flare-up of sickle-cell anemia. She has stated that her faith in God and her optimism has helped her stay free from the more serious effects of sickle cell disease.[4]

In August 2000, Watkins married rapper Mack 10. The couple's daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was born on October 20, 2000. In June 2004, she filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against Mack 10.[9] Following the split, Watkins entered a three year relationship with Takeo Spikes of the San Diego Chargers.[10]

In October 2009, Watkins revealed on CBS' The Early Show[11] and in People magazine[12] that she had secretly battled a potentially fatal brain tumor for three years. In March 2006, she was diagnosed as having a strawberry-size acoustic neuroma on her vestibular nerve, which affected her balance, hearing, sight, and facial movement. Many physicians refused to remove the tumor due to her sickle-cell-related complications, leaving her alternatives grim; ultimately she underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

[edit] Publication

[edit] Solo singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US
Hot 100		 US
R&B/Hip-Hop		 UK Singles Chart[13] NZ
1996 "Touch Myself" 40 23 36 33 Fled soundtrack
2000 "My Getaway" - 14 44 - Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Soundtrack

[edit] Featured singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US
Hot 100		 US
R&B/Hip-Hop		 UK Singles Chart
1991 "Word to the Badd!!" (Jermaine Jackson featuring T-Boz) 78 88 - You Said
1996 "Touch Myself" (Remix) (T-Boz featuring Richie Rich) - - - Seasoned Veteran
"Ghetto Love" (Da Brat featuring T-Boz) 18 16 - Anuthatantrum
1999 "Be Somebody" (Paula Cole featuring T-Boz) - - - Amen
2000 "Tight To Def" (Mack 10 with T-Boz) - - - The Paper Route
2002 "Different Times" (Raphael Saadiq feat. T-Boz of TLC) - - - Instant Vintage
2005 "It's Good" (YoungBloodZ featuring T-Boz) - - - Ev'rybody Know Me
2009 "Someday" (DJ Deckstream with T-Boz) - - 7 Sound Tracks 2

[edit] References

  1. ^ MSN (2008). "Tionne Watkins on MSN". MSN. http://music.msn.com/music/artist/tionne-watkins/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  2. ^ Thoughts accessed 2008-08-29, Author Tionne Watkins, Published 1999, Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
  3. ^ The reliable source (2011). "Celebvocate: T-Boz recruits bone-marrow donors". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/celebvocate-t-boz-recruits-bone-marrow-donors/2011/07/06/gIQArIUG1H_blog.html. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  4. ^ a b c d Tameka L. Hicks (2008). "T-Boz: Fighting against the odds". USA WEEKEND. http://www.usaweekend.com/04_issues/041107/041107t_boz.html. Retrieved 2008-02-15. [dead link]
  5. ^ VH1 (2011). "VH1 Announces Plans To Produce A New TLC Movie". VH1. http://blog.vh1.com/2011-12-01/vh1-announces-plans-for-scripted-tlc-bio-pic/. Retrieved 2011-12-01. 
  6. ^ MSN (2008). "ATL:Overview". MSN. http://tv.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2060541. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
  7. ^ Tionne Watkins (2008). "Thoughts". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-T-boz/dp/0061051837. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
  8. ^ Elysa Gardner (November 15, 1999, 2008). "Poetic 'thoughts' and observations". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds795.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
  9. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Ray Charles, 50 Cent, Fantasia Barrino, T-Boz, Incubus & More". MTV.com. June 15, 2004. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488436/20040615/charles_ray.jhtml. 
  10. ^ http://www.theinsider.com/news/1430770_T_Boz_I_m_Not_Homeless
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 545. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  1. ^ nndb biography of Tionne Watkins Accessed Dec 6, 2006
  2. ^ tv.com biography of Tionne Watkins Accessed Dec 6, 2006
  3. ^ North Carolina divorce law July 2004 Accessed Dec 6, 2006
  4. ^ H Texas Online Accessed Dec 6, 2006

[edit] External links

TLC
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
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