Brandy Is Back! A Look at the ’90s R&B Diva’s Showstopping Comeback at 45

Being a pop star and an actress has always been a difficult balancing act, and few women have pulled it off quite as well as Brandy Norwood. The multitalented performer, known mononymously as Brandy, released her debut album at just 15 years old in 1994, and topped the charts throughout the decade with songs like “ Baby ,” “ Sittin’ Up in My Room ,” “ The Boy Is Mine ” and “ Have You Ever? ” At the same time she was R&B’s reigning young diva, she was also a TV star, playing the title character on the teen sitcom Moesha from 1996 to 2001.

30 years after she first hit the scene, Brandy is now 45 and has made a triumphant comeback, reprising one of her most beloved roles and playing against type in a new horror movie. Here’s a look at what she’s been up to.

Brandy Norwood movies and TV shows

Brandy started her acting career with a role in the short-lived 1993 sitcom Thea . While that series wasn’t successful, her next role, as the star of Moesha , combined with her string of pop hits from 1994 onward, made her a teen icon. Moesha had an impressive run, with 127 episodes, and it showed that even while Brandy was blowing up in popularity across multiple formats, she could still embody a likable everygirl.

Brandy made her film debut in the 1997 musical TV movie Cinderella . The Disney movie was watched by millions and became a generational touchstone thanks to her charming performance as the princess. The movie was also notable for being one of the first and most prominent adaptations of the classic fairy tale to feature a racially diverse cast, and it still feels fresh today.

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The multihyphenate then starred in the 1998 teen horror sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and provided a voice for the 2001 live-action/animated hybrid comedy Osmosis Jones . While Brandy’s pop cultural dominance slowed down a bit in the '00s, she continued to make albums and experimented with new, more sophisticated sounds.

Most recently, Brandy released a Christmas album in 2023, and she won over a new generation of fans when Ariana Grande put out a new version of “ The Boy Is Mine ,” which was originally a hit duet for Brandy and her fellow R&B singer Monica in 1998. Brandy and Monica were also featured in the music video.

After appearing in the films Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013) and The Perfect Match (2016), Brandy wasn’t on the big screen for more than five years, and while she continued to act on TV, in the casts of The Game (2012 to 2015), Zoe Ever After (2016), Star (2018 to 2019) and Queens (2021 to 2022), none of those shows made as big an impact as Moesha.

What Brandy has been doing lately

In 2023, Brandy returned to movies when she starred in the Netflix holiday rom-com Best. Christmas. Ever! This year, she had a sweet throwback moment when she reprised her role as Cinderella in the Disney+ movie Descendants: The Rise of Red . As she described it, “Being Cinderella changed my life when I was a kid. So, to get a chance to play it again, it’s full circle .”

Brandy’s latest movie, the creepy thriller The Front Room , sees her in a juicy starring role as a mom-to-be facing off against her deranged mother-in-law. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Brandy expressed her enthusiasm for being back in movies, saying, “ A resurgence ! I’m still inspired. I love what I do. I’m just excited for everything to hit the scene and see what people think, and to see if people can still be inspired by what I do.”

Clearly, there’s a lot of nostalgia for Brandy’s ’90s heyday, and there have even been rumors of a Cinderella sequel, while her role in The Front Room has shown her range. Whether she puts her Cinderella gown back on or continues playing unexpected roles, we’re looking forward to seeing the Brandy renaissance continue.

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