Chandra Currelley-Young (born August 30, 1961) is an American actress and singer. Currelley has done extensive work with director and writer

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...

, and has played many roles in his various productions and several stage plays. In all of her stage appearances she is known for doing her signature "Holy Shake" where she shakes her shoulders while singing and the audience responds in ovation.

Life and career

Currelley-Young was a member of the

SOS Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs " Take Your Time (Do It Right)", " Just Be Good ...

from the late 1980s up until 1992, when Chandra left the band to pursue a career in acting and theater. Because of her background in theater, Currelley-Young was selected by Debbie Allen to be the featured soloist in her production "Soul Possessed" which debuted at the Alliance Theater in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. Currelley-Young was asked to perform in the 1995 Apollo Revival of

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

as Evillene The Wicked Witch of The West and was then selectively chosen to act in David Petrarca's hit production, ''Dinah Was'', the story of singer

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

. She established her acting career by appearing in Tyler Perry's '' Madea's Big Happy Family'' and many other of his productions.

Filmography

References

External links

* * http://www.chandracurrelley.com * http://www.tylerperry.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Currelly-Young, Chandra Living people American film actresses 20th-century American actresses African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses American television actresses American stage actresses 1961 births 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers