Toni Deniece Seawright (born June 25, 1964) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. In 1987, Seawright made history as the first African American to become Miss Mississippi and was the fourth runner-up in 1988's

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant.

Life and career

Seawright was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She attended

Mississippi University for Women Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls and later the Mississippi State College ...

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwa ...

, where she was the first African American to earn a degree in music at Mississippi University for Women, and majored in Vocal Music and Business at that university. Toni became the first African American to hold a recital in vocal music at MUW as well. She went on to compete for Miss ''W'', the local chapter preliminary to the Miss America Pageant and won. This win put her in the position to compete for the state's Miss Mississippi Pageant in 1987. She went on to capture the coveted crown, making history as the very first African American to ever win. She was the fourth runner-up in the Miss America Pageant, representing the state of Mississippi in 1987. Toni Seawright plays the mother of Parrish Diaz in Tony Clomax's

Toni Seawright plays the mother of Parrish Diaz in Tony Clomax's

Seawright sang background vocals for artists such as Teena Marie, Freddie Jackson,

Tony Terry Antonio "Tony" Terry (born March 12, 1964) is an American soul/ new jack swing singer from Washington, D.C., who had several R&B hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Biography Singing Terry is a graduate at the Duke Ellington School of th ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

, and Laura Branigan. Seawright starred alongside

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

and Andre DeShields in the musical '' The Wiz''. Ms. Seawright made her Broadway debut in ''Street Corner Symphony'' and ''Delta Rising'', both at the 651 Arts Theater. She also starred in the off-Broadway play ''Josh (The Black Babe Ruth)/Satchel (Requiem for Racism)'' at the National Federal Theater (also known as the Abron Arts Center), and Sister Ann in the AUDELCO award-winning play ''What Would Jesus Do?'' at the Billie Holiday Theater. Seawright most recently appeared starring as Miss Mamie in "The Widow and Miss Mamie" at

the Harlem School of the Arts Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Harlem School of the Arts was founded in 1964, by soprano Dorothy Maynor. Maynor was succeeded by mezzo-soprano Betty Allen as President in 1979, when a new 3 ...

. Seawright is currently writing and producing material for her two sons,

Qaasim Middleton Qaasim Asani Malik Seawright-Middleton is an American actor and musician best known for his role in the Nickelodeon TV series '' The Naked Brothers Band''. Qaasim also starred in the HBO documentary movie ''The Music in Me'', and finished eighth ...

and Khalil Middleton. The duo have worked with famed producers Full Force as well as Magick Blyss Entertainment, founded by Kevin Hunte, of '' So You Think You Can Dance'' fame. Seawright's ex-husband is Keith "Wild Child" Middleton, who starred in ''STOMP''. The two had two sons together, Qaasim and Kahlil. Seawright has guest starred twice on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

musical comedy series '' The Naked Brothers Band'', which co-stars her on-and-off-screen son, Qaasim, who appeared in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's ''The Music in Me''. Seawright's younger son, Khalil, starred in Noggin's '' Jack's Big Music Show''. Qaasim was a finalist on Season 14 of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. On March 16, 2020, she disclosed that she had tested positive for the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

Filmography

*" Everybody's Cried at Least Once" ('' The Naked Brothers Band'') (2008) *"

Mystery Girl ''Mystery Girl'' is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released pos ...

" (''The Naked Brothers Band'') (2008)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seawright, Toni 1964 births Living people American women singer-songwriters American television actresses African-American actresses African-American songwriters Miss America 1988 delegates Miss Mississippi winners American male singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American women singers African-American beauty pageant winners