Toni Braxton

Toni Michele Braxton is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Born on October 7, 1967, she has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, and seven American Music Awards. In 2011, she was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and in 2017, she was honored with the Legend Award at the Soul Train Music Awards.

Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland, to Michael Conrad Braxton Sr., a Methodist clergyman and power company worker, and Evelyn Jackson, a former opera singer, cosmetologist, and pastor. Raised as the eldest of six siblings in a strict religious household, her earliest performing experience was singing in her church choir. She attended Bowie State University to earn a teaching degree, but chose to pursue a music career after being met at an Annapolis service station by attendant William E. Pettaway Jr., who recognized her from local performances and offered to produce her.

In the late 1980s, Braxton began performing with her sisters in the R&B group The Braxtons, signing with Arista Records in 1989. After attracting the attention of producers Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, she signed as a solo artist with LaFace Records. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in July 1993, peaking at number one on the US Billboard 200 and selling 10 million copies worldwide. Supported by hit singles including "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again," the album earned her three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.

In June 1996, Braxton released her second album, Secrets, which reached number two on the Billboard 200 and sold over 15 million copies internationally. The album featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart," earning her two additional Grammy Awards. Following legal disputes with her labels and a bankruptcy filing, Braxton made her Broadway debut in September 1998 playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast, becoming the first Black woman to star in a Disney musical on Broadway.

After resolving her legal disputes, Braxton released her third album, The Heat, in April 2000. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, was certified double platinum in the United States, and produced the Grammy-winning single "He Wasn't Man Enough." In 2001, she made her film acting debut in the comedy Kingdom Come and released the Christmas album Snowflakes. She followed with her fourth studio album, More Than a Woman, in November 2002.

Braxton starred in Broadway's Aida in 2003 and signed with Blackground Records, releasing her fifth album, Libra, in 2005. From 2006 to 2008, she headlined a Las Vegas residency show, Toni Braxton: Revealed, at the Flamingo Las Vegas. She subsequently released the studio albums Pulse (2010), the duet album Love, Marriage & Divorce (2014) with Babyface—which won Best R&B Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards—Sex & Cigarettes (2018), and Spell My Name (2020). On television, Braxton competed on Dancing with the Stars, executive produced and starred in Braxton Family Values, and served as an executive producer for Tamar & Vince.