Heather Headley

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Heather Headley
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/HeatherHeadley.jpg
Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth name =
Born = birth date and age|1974|10|5
Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
Died =
Voice_type = Mezzo-soprano
Origin =
Genre = R&B, soul
Occupation = Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress
Years_active = 1997–present
Label = RCA
URL = [http://www.heatherheadley.com www.heatherheadley.com]

Heather Headley (born October 5, 1974) is a Trinidadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producers, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and received two Grammy Award nominations.

Biography

At age four, Headley began playing the music of her native Trinidad, including calypso, reggae, and soca.Fact|date=April 2007 In 1989 she moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana in the United States at the age of fifteen with her mom Hannah and brother Junior, when her father was offered a job as pastor of McKee Street Church of God (Anderson).

Headly attended Northrop High School, and was a member of their resident show choir, Charisma. After graduating from Northrop High School, Headley attended Northwestern University to study communications and musical theatre until the last day of her junior year, when she made the difficult decision to become a part of the musical "Ragtime" and drop out of school.

On 6 September 2003 Fact|date=April 2007, Headley married Brian Musso, formerly of the New York Jets.

Career

In 1997, she played Nala in "The Lion King", the Broadway musical. Headley's performance was well-received and she then originated the title role in the Broadway adaptation of "Aida", earning the Tony Award for Best Actress in 2000. She also starred in a concert version of the musical "Dreamgirls" alongside Audra McDonald.

In the autumn of 2006, Heather sang a rendition of "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", from the musical "Promises, Promises". The song was written by Hal David & Burt Bacharach for the play by Neil Simon (1968). The occasion for her performance was "The Kennedy Center Presents: The 2006 Mark Twain Prize", honoring playwright Neil Simon, and was televised on PBS.

Musical

Headley released her debut album, "This Is Who I Am", in October 2002 on RCA Records. Although its first single, "He Is", was not very successful, the second single, "I Wish I Wasn't", achieved moderate success. Headley earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best New Artist.

Her second album, "In My Mind", was delayed due to the various executive shake-ups associated with RCA parent BMG's merger with Sony. Headley joked that it should have been called "Caught Up" instead Fact|date=April 2007.

Under BMG North America chairman/CEO Clive Davis for the first time, Headley released her second album "In My Mind" in January 2006. The title track "In My Mind" ( produced by India.Arie collaborator Shannon Sanders ) was released as the first single; and its music video was directed by Diane Martel. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The second single "Me Time" was released to Urban AC outlets only. An album track, "Am I Worth It", served to promote Headley's New March of Dimes Educational Campaign "I Want My 9 Months".

Discography

Albums

Awards

Acting

Music

External links

* [http://www.heatherheadley.com/ Official website]
*imdb |0372186