Tionne Watkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tionne Watkins
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Watkins performing in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tionne Tenese Watkins |
| Also known as | T-Boz, Tionne Rolison |
| Born | April 26, 1970 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Epic |
Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), known as T-Boz, is a famous American singer. She became well-known in the early 1990s. T-Boz was part of the popular girl group called TLC. With TLC, she has won four Grammy Awards, which are big music prizes.
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Early Life and Background
Tionne Watkins was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 26, 1970. Her parents were James and Gayle Watkins. She has shared that her family background includes African American, Native American, and Irish roots. When Tionne was three, her parents divorced. Her mother later moved the family to Atlanta, when Tionne was nine years old. Before that, they lived briefly in California and Houston.
Music Career Highlights
Becoming Part of TLC
A person named Crystal Jones held auditions for a new singing group. She chose Tionne Watkins and Lisa Lopes to be members. This new group soon caught the attention of Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid. Antonio Reid was the head of LaFace Records. Crystal Jones was later replaced by Rozonda Thomas. In 1991, the group signed a record deal and became known as TLC.
To keep the group's name, each member got a special nickname. Tionne became "T-Boz," Lisa was "Left Eye," and Rozonda was "Chilli." TLC became a very successful group. They sold more than 65 million records around the world. As a member of TLC, T-Boz has won four Grammy Awards. After Lisa Lopes passed away in 2002, T-Boz and Chilli continued to perform as a duo.
In 2011, the TV channel VH1 announced plans for a movie about the group. T-Boz and Chilli helped produce this film. The movie, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, was first shown on October 21, 2013. Actress Drew Sidora played the role of Tionne Watkins in the film. Tionne's own daughter, Chase, played a younger version of Tionne in the movie.
T-Boz's Solo Music
Besides her work with TLC, T-Boz has also released her own songs. These include "Touch Myself" from the 1996 movie Fled. She also sang "My Getaway" for the 2000 film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie.
T-Boz has also sung on songs with other artists. These include "Ghetto Love" with Da Brat and "Changes" with Society of Soul. She also sang on "He Say She Say" with Keith Sweat and "Different Times" with Raphael Saadiq. In 2013, T-Boz released a solo song called "Champion." This song was released online, and money from it helped raise awareness for blood conditions. These conditions include sickle cell and leukemia. In 2017, she released another song called "Dreams." This song was from her audiobook "A Sick Life."
Acting and Television Appearances
Tionne Watkins has also worked as an actress. She appeared in the 1998 film Belly. She also had roles in two episodes of the TV show Living Single. One time she was with her bandmates, and another time she was by herself.
T-Boz helped produce the 2006 movie ATL, which starred the rapper T.I.. She also appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Kandi Burruss. In 2009, T-Boz was a contestant on The Apprentice. Her own reality TV show, Totally T-Boz, started in 2013 on the TLC network. The show followed T-Boz as she worked on a solo album and spent time with her daughter.
In 2016, T-Boz and Chilli joined actress Zoe Saldaña on the show Lip Sync Battle. They performed their song "No Scrubs" with Zoe. In November 2016, T-Boz started acting on the TV show Days of Our Lives. She played a character named Sheila, a prison inmate. She returned to the show as Sheila in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, she also lent her voice to a character in the animated movie Trolland.
Other Projects
Tionne Watkins wrote a book of poetry called Thoughts. It was published on November 3, 1999. In 2005, T-Boz and her stylist Tara Brivic opened a children's clothing store. It was called Chase's Closet, named after Tionne's daughter. The store later closed.
TLC also released a soundtrack album called 20. This album celebrated the band's more than 20 years in music. It also came out with their movie. The album included a new song called "Meant to Be." TLC also sang on J. Cole's song "Crooked Smile". TLC performed at several events in 2013, including VH1's Mixtape Festival. They released a new album, TLC, on June 30, 2017.
Personal Life and Health
When Tionne was a child, she was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. This is a painful blood condition. Since she was seven years old, she has had to go to the hospital many times because of it. T-Boz shared publicly about her condition in 1996. She later became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. In 2002, she was in the hospital for four months due to a flare-up of sickle-cell anemia.
Tionne Watkins married rapper Mack 10 in California in 2000. Their daughter was born prematurely in 2000. In 2004, Tionne filed for divorce. In 2012, Tionne and her daughter moved to Los Angeles, California. This move allowed her daughter to be closer to her father.
In 2009, T-Boz shared that she had a brain tumor. It was found in 2006 and was on her vestibular nerve. This tumor affected her balance, weight, hearing, and facial movement. Many doctors were hesitant to remove it because of her sickle-cell condition. She eventually had surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
In June 2016, Tionne Watkins announced that she adopted a 10-month-old boy.
Images for kids
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Watkins performing in 2016
See also
In Spanish: Tionne Watkins para niños
