Tamara Johnson-George facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tamara Johnson-George
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George performing in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tamara Antrice Johnson |
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| Born | April 29, 1971 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
Tamara Antrice Johnson-George (born April 29, 1971), known professionally as Taj, is an American singer and rapper. She is famous as one of the three members of the R&B singing group Sisters with Voices, also known as SWV.
Early Life and School
Tamara Antrice Johnson was born on April 29, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York. She is the youngest of six children. Her father passed away when she was nine years old. Tamara grew up in a challenging home environment. Her mother was sick, and the household faced difficulties.
When Tamara was 14, her mother also passed away. This meant Tamara and her siblings went to live with different relatives. Tamara attended Baruch College to study accounting. However, she left college to join the singing group Sisters With Voices, or SWV.
SWV Group
Taj joined SWV, which was first called Female Edition. Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, who became the lead singer, asked her to join. Taj was very shy and even auditioned with the lights off.
Before joining SWV, Taj was known as a background dancer and model. She appeared in the music video for Big Daddy Kane's song "Ain't No Half Steppin'". Taj had a cheerful and energetic personality.
At first, Taj both sang and rapped for the group. You can hear her rapping on songs like Right Here and I'm So Into You. She also helped write some of SWV's songs. Later, she started singing more lead parts on songs like It's All About U and Give It Up.
SWV became very successful, selling over 30 million albums. This made them one of the best-selling girl groups ever.
After SWV
After SWV officially stopped performing together in 1998, Taj signed a contract with a modeling agency. Later, she started dating Tennessee Titans football player Eddie George. They had met at a shopping mall in 1994.
In 2002, Taj went back to school at Belmont University in Nashville. She earned a degree in Business Administration in May 2004. The next month, Taj married Eddie George. Their son, Eriq Michael George, was born in 2005. Taj is also a stepmother to Eddie's older son, Jaire David.
In 2007, Taj co-wrote a book with Katrina Chambers. The book shared advice on how to have healthy relationships. That same year, Taj and Eddie George starred in a reality TV show called I Married a Baller. The show followed their lives for five weeks. It showed Taj's journey to get back in shape and SWV performing together again. The show also highlighted Visions with Infinite Possibilities, which is the Georges' charity. This charity helps families who have faced tough times at home.
Survivor Appearance
Taj was asked to be on the TV show Survivor. Before this, she had never watched the show. She also couldn't swim or fish.
Despite this, Taj became one of the strongest players that season. She finished in fourth place. She was one of only four people from her original team to make it to the final stages of the game. In the end, she voted for J.T. Thomas, who won the season.
