Veronica (born Veronica Vazquez; July 24, 1974,

the Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

) is an American

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

singer and stage actress. Along with singers

Ultra Nate adopted by United Kingdom, British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Communications Headquarters#Governme ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

, she is considered to be one of the

divas Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

of the 1990s club music scene.

Early life

Veronica was born and raised in

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to parents from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. She has one younger sister. From an early age she expressed interest in music and singing. As a child, she attended the performing arts program at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, in her neighborhood, which boasts such alumni as actress

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

and actress/singer

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

, who was also from the same neighborhood. She eventually attended New York City's famous Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (also known as

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

), made famous by the 1980s movie, '' Fame''. There she studied vocal music, including being professionally trained in opera.

Career

Veronica began her career in 1995 when she was 21 years old with the release of the lead single "Without Love" released on August 29, 1995 two months prior to the debut album ''V...As in Veronica'' which was released on October 24, 1995. The album was a mixture of R&B and Hip Hop and featured production from

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

and

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events inv ...

. On October 28, 1997, she released her second album ''Rise''. She released two singles/videos off of this album. The lead single was "No One But You" was released on September 26, 1997, and it featured

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

. The second single and album title track Rise was released on December 9, 1997, and that featured guest vocals by

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...

Cuban Link Felix Delgado (born December 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban American rapper and original member of Terror Squad. Biography Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the Unite ...

. As one of the first artists to sign to Jellybean Recordings, a label founded by music producer

Jellybean Benitez John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. H ...

, Veronica had a string of hits on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart, including three which reached the top ten. The third single "Let Me Go... Release Me" was released on March 27, 1998, and landed the number one spot in 1998, and soon afterwards it was followed by the club anthem "Someone to Hold", the albums' fifth single, released on June 21, 1998 (which peaked at the number two slot) which was remixed by producer

Johnny Vicious Johnny Vicious (born John Coles) is an American house DJ, producer and remixer. He DJed in New York City clubs Mars and Paladium in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s started his own label, Vicious Muzik Records, with Jeffrey Rodman. Vicious b ...

and played heavily in the club circuit scene. The song still remains a classic among clubgoers today and it was featured on the soundtrack to the independent film ''

Trick Trick(s) may refer to: People * Trick McSorley (1852–1936), American professional baseball player * Armon Trick (born 1978), retired German international rugby union player * David Trick (born 1955), former Ontario civil servant and univers ...

'' released in 1999 and starred

Christian Campbell Christian Bethune Campbell (born May 12, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Gabriel in the film ''Trick'', Greg Ivey in the television series ''Big Love'' and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical '' Reefer Madness''. E ...

and

Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including '' A Friend to Die F ...

. She scored a second number one dance hit in 2000 with her cover of

Evelyn "Champagne" King Evelyn "Champagne" King (born July 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her hit disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from ...

's classic R&B song " I'm in Love", which was re-recorded for a club setting. It was albums' sixth and final single of the ''Rise'' album and released at later time, on June 2, 2000. She remains a very popular singer to this very day among

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

audiences and especially in the club circuit scene. Unfortunately, the albums' fourth single, "60 Wayz" released on April 14, 1998, did not chart. She moved away from New York and the club music scene for a few years. During these years, she pursued her love for musical theater and was given the opportunity to portray slain

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

singer

Selena Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...

in a travelling production about her life and times. The production, titled '' Selena Forever'' traveled to numerous cities with a large

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

population for over a year. Shortly after the successful run of the production, she decided to return to New York and start a family and return to her love of music. In 2004, Veronica recorded a song with rapper

Triple Seis Terror Squad was an American Hip hop music, hip hop collective that was first established in 1998. Based in the Bronx borough of New York City, the members of Terror Squad collectively debuted on a song in member Fat Joe's albums ''Jealous One's ...

titled "Krazy". The song was featured on Triple Seis' debut album ''Time'll Tell''. After a brief hiatus, Veronica returned in 2006, with music producer Tim Rex on her first dance single in over five years, "Relentless...Just a Game". She can be seen in the 2007 film ''The Singer'' where she plays

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (30 September 1946 – 29 June 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa ...

's mother in his younger years. In 2021, Veronica recorded the song "Out of My Dreams" for the film adaptation of the

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

musical '' Tick, Tick...Boom!''

Personal life

She presently resides in New York City with her husband, Christopher Jackson, who starred in ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'', their son, C.J. and daughter Jadelyn. After her son was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

, Veronica has become an advocate for research and has led several efforts, including charitable walks, to raise research funds and awareness for the condition.

References

External links

*
Official ''Selena Forever'' website Veronica
on MySpace
Video of Veronica performing live at Fly Nightclub in Toronto, Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veronica 1974 births Actresses from New York City American dance musicians American house musicians American people of Puerto Rican descent American rhythm and blues musicians Living people Singers from New York City Musicians from the Bronx American stage actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American women in electronic music

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links