Tionne Watkins

Infobox musical artist 2
Name=Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins


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Background=solo_singer
Birth_name=Tionne Tenese Watkins
Alias = T-Boz, Cool
Born=birth date and age|1970|4|26
Des Moines, Iowa
Origin= Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genre=R&B, hip hop, Pop
Years_active =1991–present
Label=SRC Records/Universal Records
URL=

Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26 1970)cite web |url=http://music.msn.com/music/artist/tionne-watkins/|title=Tionne Watkins on MSN|author=MSN |accessdate=2008-07-12 |date=2008 |publisher=MSN ] , better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American R&B singer and a member of the group TLC. Watkins is also an occasional actress.

Biography

Early life

Watkins was born in Des Moines, Iowa. She is of both African American and Native American descent. ["Thoughts" accessed 2008-08-29, Author Tionne Watkins, Published 1999, Publisher HarperCollins Publishers] As a child, she was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia; her parents both have the homozygous recessive trait which one in 12 people of African American descent have. cite web |url=http://www.usaweekend.com/04_issues/041107/041107t_boz.html|title=T-Boz: Fighting against the odds
author=Tameka L. Hicks |accessdate=2008-02-15 |date=2008 |publisher=USA WEEKEND ] Since the age of seven, Watkins has been in and out of hospitals due to her condition. Watkins' family moved from Des Moines to Atlanta, Georgia, when she was nine years old. She was not expected to live past her 20s.

Personal life

Initially hiding details of her ailment from others, she went public with the disease in 1996 and is today one of the spokespeople for [http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/ Sickle Cell Disease Association of America] . In August 2000, she married rapper Mack 10. The couple's daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was born on October 20, 2000. In 2002, Watkins was in the hospital for four months making it one of her longest stays due to her sickle-cell anemia. The death of band member and close friend Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes was a heavy blow to her and fellow band member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.

In June 2004, Watkins filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against Mack 10. [ [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488436/20040615/charles_ray.jhtml For The Record: Quick News On Ray Charles, 50 Cent, Fantasia Barrino, T-Boz, Incubus & More, from mtv.com] ] 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. She is currently dating Takeo Spikes of the San Francisco 49ers.

Career history

After a career as a hair stylist, Watkins auditioned for Atlanta teenager Crystal Jones' music group 2nd Nature. Jones, 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 over 45 million records worldwide. She is one of the founders of the group TLC and also the lead singer along with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas who is usually the lead singer in the more pop-oriented songs done by the group, like "No Scrubs".

In addition to her work in TLC, Watkins has done some solo recording, including the singles "Touch Myself" (1996) for the "Fled" soundtrack, and "My Getaway" (2000) from the "" soundtrack. T-boz has also collaborated with other artists over the years. This include singles such as "Ghetto Love" (1996) by Da Brat, "Changes" (1996) by Society of Soul, "He Say She Say" (2000) by Keith Sweat, "Different Times" (2002) by Raphael Saadiq, and "Be Somebody" by Paula Cole.

Watkins has also worked as an actress, appearing in Hype Williams' 1998 film "Belly". She also made a couple of appearances in TV's "Living Single" (in one episode, TLC appeared as themselves in Overton's dream sequences). More recently, Watkins also served as one of the executive producers for the 2006 movie "ATL" featuring the rapper, T.I.cite web |url=http://tv.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2060541 |title=ATL:Overview|author=MSN|accessdate=2008-04-29 |date=2008 |publisher=MSN ] . She recently did a video for "It's Good" with YoungBloodZ, which appears at the end of their Chop Chop video.

As an author, Watkins released the book "Thoughts" in November 3, 1999. The book is collection of poems as well as essays discussing her life experiences.cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-T-boz/dp/0061051837|title=Thoughts |author=Tionne Watkins|accessdate=2008-08-29 |date=2008 |publisher=Amazon.com ] .cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds795.htm|title= Poetic 'thoughts' and observations |author=Elysa Gardner|accessdate=2008-08-29 |date=2008 |publisher=USA Today ]

In 2005, Watkins opened a children's boutique called Chase's Closet (named for her daughter). The boutique is located in the exclusive River Oaks area.ref|htexas She opened it with girlfriend celebrity stylist Tara Brivic Rowntree.Chase's Closet has won best kids store 4 years in a row and T-Boz will be putting out her own line named after her store.

She was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People of the World" by "People Magazine" twice in 1994 and 2000.

On August 14, 2007, she spoke with fan website CyberTLC World about upcoming plans which included her solo album, which she had started recording three weeks previously. [ [www.cybertlcworld.net] She currently has 17 tracks completed and is planning on recording at least 30 songs before she selects the final track listing. Watkins also spoke about a possible TLC movie, which bandmember Rozonda Thomas, is interested in making. At the moment there is no word whether or not Watkins and Thomas would play themselves. An upcoming TLC-related television program is also in the works, as well as a book that Watkins is currently in the midst of writing.

During the interview, she also spoke about TLC's future as a band, stating it was not likely that there will ever be another album from the group but that there will possibly be a farewell tour sometime before she releases her solo project. Watkins has also put in an appearance on Thomas' song "Gameproof".Fact|date=August 2008

In December 2007, Watkins signed a deal with Universal Records via SRC. [ [http://www.billboardchartalert.com/bbbiz/content_display/genre/e3i1dd2d15c2a9151a7bdbfa26f0b053c4e R&B Confab Wraps With PPM Panel, Rifkind Q&A ] ] She also followed up by signing a deal with a music marketing firm, FYI Public Relations [ [http://www.fyipr.com/affiliations.htm FYI Public Relations - Top New York Public Relations Agency ] ]

On September 17, 2008, T-Boz again gave a candid interview to Chris Wilson at CyberTLC World. She gave everyone an update on her solo album and said that she has 2 tracks with Lil' Wayne and would be going into the studio in October with Dallas Austin, and would also be working with Polow Da Don. She said she had around 30 tracks recorded for her solo album, and hopefully it will be out in 2009. T-Boz also spoke about two upcoming singles in Japan (one solo single, and one with Chilli and Lil' Kim), a new book she's writing, and the TLC movie that's still in the works. For a complete audio interview visit www.cybertlcforums.com

Just announced T-Boz will join the cast of The Celebrity Apprentice starting in 2009.

Publication

*cite book | last = Watkins | first = Tionne| title = Thoughts| publisher = HarperEntertainment | location = | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0061051838

Discography

olo Singles

Featured Singles

References

# [http://www.nndb.com/people/854/000045719/ nndb biography of Tionne Watkins] Accessed Dec 6, 2006
# [http://www.tv.com/tionne-t-boz-watkins/person/55267/biography.html tv.com biography of Tionne Watkins] Accessed Dec 6, 2006
# [http://www.ncdivorce.com/divorceblog/index.asp?giorno=8&month=7&year=2004&select_case=day North Carolina divorce law July 2004] Accessed Dec 6, 2006
# [http://htexas.com/feature.cfm?Story=426 H Texas Online] Accessed Dec 6, 2006

External links

*imdb name|id=0914418|name=T-Boz
* [http://www.tv.com/tionne-t-boz-watkins/person/55267/biography.html Biography at TV.com]
* [http://www.chasescloset.com ChasesCloset.com]