Who is Brandy?
Brandy is an award-winning American singer, songwriter, model, record producer and businesswoman. She is popularly known for hit songs like “The Boy Is Mine” (1998) which she did with Monica, Afrodisiac (2004), Piano Man (2008), etc. In early 2022, Brandy collaborated with Nigerian artist, Tiwa Savage, in her hit song – “Somebody’s Son”. Brandy has received praise for her vocals. Her unique timbre and intricate riffs earned her the title of “the Vocal Bible.”
Brandy’s full name is Brandy Rayana Norwood. She was born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, the United States of America. As of September 2022, Brandy is 43 years old.
About Brandy’s parents
Brandy was born to her parents: William Ray Norwood Sr. (father) and Sonja Norwood (mother). Brandy’s father, William Ray Norwood Sr. is an American gospel singer, songwriter and vocal coach. He was born on November 30, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States. William Ray Norwood Sr. is originally from Greenwood, Mississippi.
He got married to Brandy’s mother, Sonja Norwood (née Bates) on September 3, 1976, and they have been together ever since. Although Sonja and William Ray Norwood Sr. have only 2 children together (Brandy and her younger brother Ray J), William Ray Norwood Sr. has three other children from previous relationships. As of September 2022, William Ray Norwood Sr. is 66 years old.
Brandy’s mother, Sonja Norwood (née Bates) is an American producer and musical artist. She was born on December 5, 1950. At the time of Brandy’s birth, Sonja Norwood worked as a district manager for H&R Block, an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States and Australia. Sonja Norwood has also worked as a producer of the reality TV series, “For The Love of Ray J.” As of September 2022, Sonja Norwood is 71 years old. Sonja and William Ray Norwood Sr. celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in September 2022.
About Brandy’s siblings
Brandy has four siblings in total. This includes one blood brother from her parents’ marriage and three other half-siblings from her father’s previous relationship. Brandy’s brother, Ray J is an American singer, songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and television personality. Ray J’s real name is William Ray Norwood Jr. and he is Brandy’s younger brother. He was born on January 27, 1981. As of September 2022, Ray J is 41 years old.
As a singer, Ray J is popularly known for his hit songs like “Sexy Can I” and his reality TV series, “For The Love of Ray J.” Ray J is also popular for his controversial intimacy tape with Kim Kardashian which leaked in 2007. As of the time of writing this article, Ray J is married to Princess Love and they have 2 children together.
The names of Brandy’s half-siblings are Monica, Candy and Danyelle Brown. Not much is currently known about them.
Brandy and Snoop Dogg’s relationship
According to reports, Brandy is a first cousin to rappers, Snoop Dogg (born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.); Nate Dogg (born Nathaniel Dwayne Hale) and professional wrestler, Sasha Banks (born Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado).
About Brandy’s marriage and wedding
As of September 2022, Brandy is not married and does not have a husband. The “Long Distance” singer has never been married. Brandy was previously engaged to Ryan Press and basketball player, Quentin Richardson, but none of the relationships led to marriage.
Brandy also had a brief relationship with Kobe Bryant. She currently has a daughter with American record producer, Robert Anthony Smith, also known as Big Bert.
List of men Brandy has dated
Find a list of Brandy’s previous boyfriends below.
- Brandy had a very brief relationship with Kobe Bryant in 1996. She was Kobe Bryant’s high school prom date.
- Brandy dated Usher in 1997.
- Brandy dated Wanya Morris in 1996 and also referred to him as her first love. However, Morris who was five years older than Brandy broke up with her a month before her nineteenth birthday.
- Brandy dated Mase in 1998.
- Brandy dated Big Bert (Robert Anthony Smith) in 2001.
- Brandy dated Quentin Richardson in 2004.
- Brandy dated Flo Rida in 2009.
- Brandy was rumoured to have dated Tyrese Gibson from 2001 to 2009. This has been found to be untrue as Brandy was in other relationships at the time.
- Brandy dated Terrence Jenkins in 2010.
- Brandy dated Ryan Press in 2010.
About Brandy’s relationship with Big Bert
Robert Anthony Smith, also known as Big Bert, is Brandy’s baby daddy. He is an American producer and musician. Big Bert and Brandy dated from 2001 to 2003. According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, Big Bert met Brandy during the production stage of her third studio album, “Full Moon”. However, they didn’t announce their relationship until February 2002 when Brandy appeared on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, heavily pregnant. At the time, Brandy claimed that she was married to Big Bert, stating that they had secretly tied the knot in the summer of 2001. This statement was later found to be untrue.
Brandy and Big Bert welcomed their daughter, Sy’Rai Smith in June 2002. Sadly, a year after the birth of their daughter, Brandy and Big Bert broke up and went their separate ways.
Not long after his split from Brandy, Big Bert revealed that his supposed marriage to Brandy was faked so as to preserve Brandy’s image as an innocent and godly person.
Brandy clapped back at Big Bert, saying:
“We still share a common bond through our daughter, Sy’Rai. He is not thinking about her, me or what we had together. He is trying to destroy my reputation, while using me and our daughter to get publicity and radio airplay for his artists. I am stunned that he is being so dirty about it.”
It wasn’t until 2014 that Brandy finally admitted that her marriage to Big Bert had indeed been faked. Brandy said that she felt she would be judged for having a child out of wedlock, so she faked the marriage story. She said that at the time she got pregnant, having a child out of wedlock was still widely seen as a sinful thing.
She said:
“I felt I couldn’t be honest about that. I felt the pressure of having to be perfect. And I was scared. I thought that everything I have worked hard for and everything that I worked to build was threatened.”
Big Bert has since remarried. He currently lives in Florida with his wife and five children.
About Brandy’s relationship with Quentin Richardson
Quentin Richardson is a former American basketball player. Richardson and Brandy dated from 2004 to 2005. During the course of their relationship, Brandy and Quentin Richardson were engaged to be married. According to reports seen by DNB Stories Africa, Richardson reportedly proposed marriage to Brandy with an eleven-and-half-carat diamond ring valued at one million dollars.
About her relationship with Richardson, Brandy said:
“It’s definitely going well. We’re taking it day by day because we’re both young and I’ve been through a crazy experience.”
Sadly, Brandy called off her engagement to Quentin Richardson in September 2005. Their relationship lasted about fourteen months. It was reported that following their split, Brandy covered the tattoo of Richardson’s face she previously had on her back.
About Brandy’s relationship with Ryan Press
After her relationship with Quentin Richardson, Brandy dated rapper, Flo Rida very briefly. When she split from Flo Rida, Brandy remained single for some time. She finally started dating music executive, Ryan Press in 2012. Ryan Press and Brandy dated for about two years, lasting from 2012 to 2014. During the time of their relationship, Brandy and Ryan Press got engaged and many fans hoped that they were going to get married.
At the time of their relationship, Brandy said:
“I had given up on love a long time ago. It just didn’t seem to work for me so, I was single for a long time. I stopped looking for love and then I ran into my boyfriend. He just loves me for who I am.”
In a surprising twist of events, the engagement was called off. Brandy’s representative said that while the engagement was off, the singer’s friendship with Ryan was still on. The representative also added that Ryan Press and Brandy decided to take a step back to reevaluate their relationship.
About Brandy’s children
As of September 2022, Brandy has only one daughter from her previous relationship with Robert Anthony Smith, popularly known as Big Bert.
About Brandy’s daughter – Sy’Rai Smith
Brandy’s daughter Sy’Rai Smith was born Sy’Rai Iman Smith on June 16, 2002, to Brandy and her then-boyfriend Big Bert. As of September 2022, Sy’Rai Smith is 20 years old.
Like her mother, Sy’Rai Smith is an R&B and soul singer. In an interview, Sy’Rai Smith spoke about her weight loss journey and the pressure she felt. She added that she thought her mother would be embarrassed by her weight but she never was.
She said:
“I had a lot of health issues when I was at the size that I was. I knew that being in the body in was in, I knew my life wasn’t going to be as long.”
About Brandy’s car accident
On December 20, 2006, while driving on the Los Angeles 405 Freeway, Brandy was involved in a fatal car accident which claimed the life of a 38 -year-old woman called Awatef Aboudihaj.
According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, Brandy hit the Toyota driven by Awatef Aboudihaj who died from blunt force injuries sustained in the crash. Brandy was said to have been driving at 65 miles per hour, not noting that the vehicles ahead of her had slowed. Her vehicle crashed into Aboudihaj’s, causing the vehicle to slide sideways and hit the centre divider. It was later discovered that Awatef Aboudihaj had slight traces of marijuana in her system at the time of the accident.
Brandy was not arrested. However, Aboudihaj’s parents filed a $50 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the singer. Aboudihaj’s husband also filed a lawsuit against Brandy, suing her for an undisclosed amount. Brandy and Aboudihaj’s parents settled out of court. Aboudihaj’s two children received $300,000 dollars each in the settlement, according to reports.
Brandy revisited the incident in 2009, saying:
“The whole experience did completely change my life and I can say that I am a better person from it. You know, I still don’t understand all of it and why all of it happened , but I definitely have a heart and my heart goes out to everyone involved. I pray about it every single day, and that’s all I can really say on the subject.”
