Biography
Pop singer and television personality Melanie B., also recognized as Scary Spice, first rose to prominence through her role in the Spice Girls, the all-girl pop act that dominated the 1990s. Born Melanie Janine Brown in Leeds, England, in 1975, she displayed an early passion for performance and studied at the Intake High School Arts College in her hometown. Following her schooling she spent time working as a dancer prior to trying out for the ensemble that evolved into the Spice Girls. She became a member of the dance-pop outfit in 1994 and quickly earned the media moniker “Scary Spice,” assigned to every participant in the group, on account of her brash, high-energy stage presence.
Her first solo chart-topper arrived in 1998 with the single “I Want You Back,” a collaboration with rapper and producer Missy Elliot that appeared on the soundtrack for Why Do Fools Fall in Love. She next contributed a version of the Cameo funk classic “Word Up” to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack. During the same period she began hosting assorted television programs, among them multiple awards broadcasts and the BBC2 music magazine Pure Naughty.
Virgin Records issued her debut full-length album, Hot, in 2000; the project enlisted noted producers such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley yet failed to achieve strong sales, resulting in her release from the label. She also parted ways with dancer Jimmy Gulzar, her husband and the father of her daughter born in 1999. Brown has since maintained an independent path in acting and music. Her autobiography, Catch a Fire, reached stores in 2002. In 2004 she took the stage on Broadway as the drug-addicted Mimi in Rent. A live recording of songs from that production alongside original material surfaced in 2005 under the title L.A. State of Mind on the independent Amber Cafe imprint.
The year 2007 proved especially eventful: she endured intense tabloid scrutiny surrounding her split from comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, with whom she had a child that year, while also disclosing her secret marriage to movie producer Stephen Belafonte. At the same time she joined the Spice Girls on their farewell tour.
Her first solo chart-topper arrived in 1998 with the single “I Want You Back,” a collaboration with rapper and producer Missy Elliot that appeared on the soundtrack for Why Do Fools Fall in Love. She next contributed a version of the Cameo funk classic “Word Up” to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack. During the same period she began hosting assorted television programs, among them multiple awards broadcasts and the BBC2 music magazine Pure Naughty.
Virgin Records issued her debut full-length album, Hot, in 2000; the project enlisted noted producers such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley yet failed to achieve strong sales, resulting in her release from the label. She also parted ways with dancer Jimmy Gulzar, her husband and the father of her daughter born in 1999. Brown has since maintained an independent path in acting and music. Her autobiography, Catch a Fire, reached stores in 2002. In 2004 she took the stage on Broadway as the drug-addicted Mimi in Rent. A live recording of songs from that production alongside original material surfaced in 2005 under the title L.A. State of Mind on the independent Amber Cafe imprint.
The year 2007 proved especially eventful: she endured intense tabloid scrutiny surrounding her split from comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, with whom she had a child that year, while also disclosing her secret marriage to movie producer Stephen Belafonte. At the same time she joined the Spice Girls on their farewell tour.
Albums
Singles
