Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

. She has won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for her work with TLC.

Early life

Tionne Watkins was born in

, on April 26, 1970, to James and Gayle Watkins. She has written that she is of African American, Native American and Irish descent. Watkins' family moved from Des Moines to

Atlanta, Georgia 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 ...

, when she was nine years old.

Career

TLC

Crystal Jones held auditions for a singing group and chose Watkins, and

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...

. The group eventually attracted the attention of

Perri "Pebbles" Reid Perri Arlette Reid (née McKissack; August 29, 1964), known professionally as the recording artist Pebbles, is an American singer-songwriter, businesswoman, record producer, and music executive. Reid is known for her hit songs during the late 1 ...

and her husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid, head of

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

. Jones was replaced with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and the group was signed in 1991 as TLC. The successful group sold more than 65 million records. T-Boz has won four

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Awards as a member of TLC. In late 2011, VH1 announced plans to produce a biopic on the group. Watkins and Thomas signed on as producers. The film, '' CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story'', premiered October 21, 2013. The role of Watkins was portrayed by actress/singer

Drew Sidora Drew Sidora Pittman (née Jordan; born May 1, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her recurring role as Chantel in the Disney Channel Original Series ''That's So Raven'', as Lucy Avila in the 2006 film '' Step Up'', as Tion ...

. Watkins' daughter, Chase, portrayed a younger Tionne in the film.

Solo work

In addition to her work with TLC, Watkins recorded solo singles, including: "

Touch Myself "Touch Myself" is the debut solo single by American singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins for the soundtrack album to the film ''Fled'', starring Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin. It was released by Rowdy Records as the album's lead single on Jul ...

" (for the soundtrack of the 1996 film ''

Fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepares a man to ...

'') and "

My Getaway "My Getaway" is a song by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Brycyn "Juvie" Evans from the '' Rugrats in Paris Movie Soundtrack''. Watkins said of her involvement, "I'm a big fan of Tommy and Chuckie and the rest of the Rugrats, and I'm honored to be on ...

" (for the soundtrack to the 2000 film '' Rugrats in Paris: The Movie''). In addition, she has been a featured vocalist on such songs as: "Ghetto Love" with

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album '' Fun ...

, "Changes" with

Society of Soul Society of Soul was a five-member R&B group that consisted of the members of Organized Noize (Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade and Ray Murray) as well as Espraronza and Big Rube Ruben Bailey (born September 27, 1969, Atlanta, Georgia), professionally ...

, "He Say She Say" with

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...

, "Different Times" with

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

and "Be Somebody" with

Paula Cole Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger (Paula Cole album), Harbing ...

. She also featured on the song "It's Good" by

YoungBloodZ YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

. On January 22, 2013, Watkins released her first solo single in over 15 years titled "Champion". The song was released digitally, and proceeds went to help raise awareness for people suffering from blood conditions such as Sickle Cell. On September 6, 2017, Watkins released her latest single digitally from her audiobook "A Sick Life" titled "Dreams".

Television and film

Watkins has worked as an actress, appearing in

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

' 1998 film ''

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cen ...

''. She also appeared in two episodes of ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profes ...

'', the first time guest-starring along with her bandmates and another time without them. Watkins served as one of the executive producers for the 2006 movie '' ATL'' featuring the rapper, T.I. She also appeared on ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...

'' as a friend of

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xs ...

. Watkins made a guest appearance as

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distin ...

in one episode of the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

series '' Black Dynamite''. In 2009, Watkins was a participant in the eight season of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...

'', finishing in 11th place. Watkins' reality TV show ''

Totally T-Boz ''Totally T-Boz'' is an American reality documentary miniseries on TLC. The four-episode series premiered on January 1, 2013. Filmed in October 2012, ''Totally T-Boz'' follows Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins as she works on her new music career. As a m ...

'', premiered January 1, 2013, on the

network, and ran four episodes. The show chronicled Watkins' quest to create a solo album, reunite with bandmember, Chilli, and her life with her daughter Chase. In 2016, Watkins and Chili joined actress

Zoe Saldana Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

onstage for her second round performance of "

No Scrubs "No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, ''FanMail'', on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, forme ...

" on

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

's ''

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

'' against actor

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in th ...

. In November 2016, she began a two-month acting stint as Sheila, a hardened prison inmate, on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''. Watkins would later return to Days of Our Lives as a recurring character, playing the zany ex-con Sheila, in both 2017 and 2018. In 2017, she lent her voice to a character in ''Trolland'', also known as ''Trollz'', a direct-to-DVD CGI-animated movie.

Other work

Watkins published a book of semi-autobiographical poetry called ''Thoughts'' on November 3, 1999. In 2005, Watkins and stylist Tara Brivic (who would later appear regularly on ''

'') opened a children's boutique called Chase's Closet (named after her daughter). It was shut down years later. TLC also released a soundtrack album '' 20'' marking both the band's 20-plus year legacy in entertainment business and the release of their biopic, this album included a new track written by singer

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

, "Meant to Be". They also had guest vocals on

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

's track "

Crooked Smile "Crooked Smile" is a song by American Hip hop music, hip hop recording artist and record producer J. Cole, released June 4, 2013, as the second official single from his second studio album, ''Born Sinner'' (2013). The song was Hip hop production, ...

". TLC celebrated their return with a series of highly publicized performances which included 2 dates: VH1's Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on July 27, 2013, and Drake's OVO Fest in Toronto on August 5, 2013. They released an album, ''TLC'', on June 30, 2017.

Personal life

As a child, Watkins was diagnosed with

sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red blo ...

. Since the age of seven, she has been in and out of the hospital due to the painful condition. T-Boz opened up to the public about the disease in 1996; she later became one of the spokespersons for Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. In 2002, she was hospitalized for four months due to a flare-up of sickle-cell anemia. She is a national co-chair of the progressive organization Health Care Voter. On August 19, 2000, Watkins married rapper

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper. He has sold nearly 11 million records combining his solo and group works. Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's 1994 " Bootleg ...

. The couple's daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was born

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

a few months later on October 20, 2000. In June 2004, she filed for

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, and requested a restraining order against Mack 10. In 2012, Watkins moved with Chase from Atlanta to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in order for Chase to be closer to her father. In October 2009, Watkins revealed that she had secretly battled a potentially fatal

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

for three years. In March 2006, she was diagnosed as having a grape-sized

acoustic neuroma A vestibular schwannoma (VS), also called acoustic neuroma, is a benign tumor that develops on the vestibulocochlear nerve that passes from the inner ear to the brain. The tumor originates when Schwann cells that form the insulating myelin sheath ...

on her

vestibular nerve The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information transmitted by vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith orga ...

that affected her balance, weight, hearing, sight, and facial movement. Many physicians refused to remove the tumor due to her sickle-cell-related complications, leaving her alternatives grim. Ultimately, she underwent surgery at

Cedars-Sinai Hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles. Watkins filed for bankruptcy in February 2011 and again in October 2011."TLC: Broke & Famous." ''Broke & Famous''. Exec. Prod. Joe Houlihan and Simon Lloyd. Reelz, October 6, 2017. Television. In an episode of the

Reelz Reelz (formerly known as Reelz Channel) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The network's programming was formerly devoted to entertainment-oriented programming focusing on the Hollywood ...

TV series ''Broke & Famous'', entertainment reporter Viviana Vigil stated Watkins spent $9,000 a month and owed $770,000 on her home with a reported monthly income of $11,000, while another reporter Nina Parker cited Watkins's medical bills and brain tumor. In June 2016, Watkins announced that she had adopted a 10-month-old son named Chance.T-Boz has a 10-month-old baby boy named Chance
/ref>

Publication

* *

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Music videos

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Tionne 1970 births African-American Christians American contraltos African-American women singer-songwriters American people of Irish descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American contemporary R&B singers Arista Records artists Cash Money Records artists Living people Motown artists Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Participants in American reality television series Musicians from Atlanta Writers from Des Moines, Iowa People with sickle-cell disease TLC (group) members Actresses from Des Moines, Iowa 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Iowa 20th-century African-American women singers The Apprentice (franchise) contestants Singer-songwriters from Iowa