Tionne Watkins

Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970),^[1] better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer, songwriter, model, dancer, actress, author, and executive producer. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B/hip hop girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.

T-Boz currently hosts iCraft Radio on Dash Radio.

Early life

Tionne Watkins was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 26, 1970, to James and Gayle Watkins. She is of African American, Native American and Irish descent.^[2][3] As a child, Watkins was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia.^[4] Since the age of seven, she has been in and out of hospital due to her condition.^[4] Watkins's family moved from Des Moines to Atlanta, Georgia, when she was nine years old. Because of her disease, she was not expected to have children or live past her 30s, but has lived 15 years past her life expectancy and has a 15-year-old daughter.

Career

TLC

Crystal Jones held auditions for a singing group and chose Watkins, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The group eventually attracted the attention of Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid, head of LaFace Records. Jones was replaced with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and the group was signed in 1991 as TLC. They went on to become one of the most successful girl groups in history with over 65 million records sold worldwide.T-Boz is the official lead singer of TLC, leading them with a signature contralto. ^[5] T-Boz has won five Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.^[6]

In late 2011, VH1 announced plans to produce a biopic on TLC to air in 2013.^[7] Watkins and Thomas signed on as producers. The role of Watkins was portrayed by actress/singer Drew Sidora in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. 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" (For the soundtrack of the 1996 film Fled) and "My Getaway" (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, "Changes" with Society of Soul, "He Say She Say" with Keith Sweat, "Different Times" with Raphael Saadiq and "Be Somebody" with Paula Cole. Watkins has appeared on a song by her TLC bandmate Rozonda Thomas, entitled "Gameproof".

In 2007, she recorded songs for a solo album supposedly titled Still Cool. However, it still has yet to be released.

Television and film

Watkins has worked as an actress, appearing in Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly. She also appeared in an episode of Living Single, the first time guest-starring along with her bandmates and another time without them. Watkins also served as one of the executive producers for the 2006 movie ATL featuring the rapper, T.I..^[8] She was also featured in the music video for "It's Good" with YoungBloodZ, and appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Kandi Burruss. T-Boz was a contestant in The Celebrity Apprentice, where she was fired for volunteering to come back into the boardroom. After referencing a previous contestant who was fired from the show for the same action, Donald Trump told her, "Never volunteer for an execution."

Other work

Watkins published a book of semi-autobiographical poetry called Thoughts on November 3, 1999.^[9] In 2005, Watkins and stylist Tara Brivic (who would later appear regularly on Totally T-Boz) opened a children's boutique called Chase's Closet (named after her daughter). It was shut down years later.

Watkins' reality TV show Totally T-Boz, premiered January 1, 2013 on the TLC network.^[5] The show chronicled Watkins' quest to create a solo album, reunite with bandmember, Chilli, and her life with her daughter Chase.

During 2013, alongside group-mate Chilli they executive produced the VH1 biopic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story which aired on October 21, 2013, actress Drew Sidora portrayed Watkins. Her daughter Chase portrayed a younger Tionne in the film. They 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, “Meant to Be.” They also had guest vocals on J. Cole's track "Crooked Smile". TLC celebrated their return with a series of highly publicized performances which included 2 dates: VH1's Mixtape Festival in Hershey, PA on July 27, 2013 and Drake's OVO Fest in Toronto on August 5, 2013. They are expected to release a new studio album in 2016.

Personal life

Initially withholding details of her ailment from others, Watkins went public with the her struggle with sickle cell anemia in 1996 and later became one of the spokespeople 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 has stated that her faith in God and her optimism has helped her stay free from the more serious effects of sickle cell disease.^[4]

From 1994-1997 Watkins was in a relationship with Jodeci member Dalvin Degrate.

On August 19, 2000, Watkins married rapper Mack 10. The couple's daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was prematurely born a few months later on October 20, 2000. In June 2004, she filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against Mack 10.^[10] In 2012, Watkins moved with Chase from Atlanta to Los Angeles, California in order for Chase to be closer to her father.

In October 2009, Watkins revealed on CBS' The Early Show^[11] and in People magazine^[12] that she had secretly battled a potentially fatal brain tumor for three years. In March 2006, she was diagnosed as having a strawberry-size acoustic neuroma on her vestibular nerve, which affected her balance, 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 in Los Angeles.^[13]

One of Watkins' uncles married the mother of Lisa Lopes, thus making her and Lopes cousins.^[14]

Publication

• Watkins, Tionne (1999). Thoughts. HarperEntertainment. ISBN 978-0-06-105183-8. 

Discography

As lead artist

Featured songs

References

External links

• Official website
• T-Boz at the Internet Movie Database