Meredith O'Connor is an American singer, businesswoman and mental health activist. She is a former model and activist for the NGOCSD-NY supporting the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and communities globally. She is regarded as influential in a

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

feature for her global impact in pop culture. Her music has been featured on TeenNick and

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. O'Connor is currently based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. Her latest release is an international collaboration titled "You Are Not Alone (International)". The beneficiary of the song is the

National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States–based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoca ...

. Celebrities featured in the song include

Minzy Gong Min-ji (; born January 18, 1994), better known by her stage name Minzy, is a South Korean singer and dancer. She debuted in 2009 as a member of South Korean girl group 2NE1, which became one of the best-selling girl groups worldwide befor ...

RUGGERO Ruggero (), the Italian equivalent of Roger, may refer to: *Roger I of Sicily, Ruggero I of Sicily (1031–1101) Norman king of Sicily *Ruggero J. Aldisert (1919–2014), judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit *Ruggero ...

, Reekado Banks, and Mary Wilson from the

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

Early career

Meredith O'Connor began her career as a model before being signed for music. After being discovered, her first music video for the song "Celebrity"

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

. She then used her fame to speak out on mental health and bullying.

Appearances in film

In 2015, O'Connor appeared as one of the celebrity cameos alongside

Garrett Clayton Gary Michael "Garrett" Clayton (born March 19, 1991) is an American actor and singer. He is known for portraying Tanner in the 2013 Disney Channel movie '' Teen Beach Movie'' and its 2015 sequel '' Teen Beach 2'', and other film, television, and ...

, Jon Header, and many others in

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's " Los Huevos" in the American version. She also had cameos alongside

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

in 'Bunny Bravo' of Superdope TV. Recently, Arianna Huffington's Thrive had announced the development of an autobiography feature based on the life of O'Connor, telling the story of how her music has impacted fans. It is planned to be directed by Ilyssa Goodman and Garrett Clayton, while Addison Rickie will play O'Connor as a child.

Advocacy

O'Connor has said that she was bullied as a child. Based on her experience, she became an advocate for victims of bullying and an anti-bullying spokesperson, becoming an official advisor of Reach Out. Her advocacy has resulted in multiple accolades and recognition for global impact. She delivered a

TEDx talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

on her impact and anti-bullying advocacy. She has also spoken at the

United Nations General Assembly Hall The United Nations General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It contains the main assembly hall of the United Nations Genera ...

multiple times in 2018. In the ''Steppin Out'' magazine, O'Connor said that she wrote her song "The Game" to show fans that things can get better. In 2013–14, O'Connor embarked on a ten city tour to promote the music video for her song "The Game". During the tour, she and her team performed for thousands of young people in schools, encouraging the victims of bullying to stay strong.

Music

O'Connor released her debut EP in February 2013. The music video for the lead single "Celebrity"

on YouTube The EP received positive reviews from music bloggers Andrew Greenhalgh and G. W. Hill. O’Connor's single "Just the Thing" was officially released on iTunes on April 22, 2014. O'Connor released her debut album "I am" in late 2015. The song "Stronger" from the album features

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's Teen Beach movie's

. O'Connor is a celebrity advocate for the United Nation's Project 50/50. Her next film will be based on her own life, produced and directed by Ilyssa Goodman, who directed "A Cinderella Story". O'Connor's international mental health campaign called "You Are Not Alone" features celebrities from around the world to raise funds and awareness for mental illness treatment. Celebrities include

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

singer

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

afro-pop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

singer Reekado Banks, and Mary Wilson of the

Modeling

Before O'Connor was signed for her first single, she was signed by Model Management Group based in New York City. After that, she did modeling work for companies including

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

Discography

Solo studio albums * ''Meredith O'Connor'' (2013) * ''I Am'' (2015) Singles * ''Just the Thing'' (2014) * ''Being Me'' (2015) * ''Unforgettable Night'' (2015) * ''Guardian Angel'' (2019) * ''You Are Not Alone (International)'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Meredith 21st-century American actresses American child actresses American child singers American women singers American musical theatre actresses Living people People from Long Island Singers from New York (state) Anti-bullying activists Year of birth missing (living people)