Monica is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman, who is well known for singing at the 1996 Olympics at age 15 and also for her debut album, “Miss Thang”(1995) following her signing with Rowdy Records. She also got recognition for her several other hit albums including the global best-seller “The Boy Is Mine”(1998), “After the Storm”(2003), “The Makings of Me”(2006), and “Still Standing”(2010).
Monica’s popularity further increased with her roles in series, “Living Single”(1996), “Felicity”(2001), “American Dreams”(2003), and her own highly rated BET series, “Monica: Still Standing”.
She is also recognized as one of the most successful urban R&B female vocalists to emerge in the mid to late 1990s as she is the youngest recording act to ever have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the Billboard Top R&B Singles chart, as well as the first artist to top the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart over the span of three consecutive decades(1990s, 2000s, and 2010s).
What is Monica Famous for?
- Famous as a popular African-American singer.
- Known for singing “Don’t Take It Personal” and “Before You Walk Out of My Life.”
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Where was Monica Born?
Monica was born on October 24, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Her birth name is Monica Denise Arnold. Her nationality is American. Monica belongs to African-American ethnicity while Scorpio is her zodiac sign.
Monica was born as the only daughter of her parents, Marilyn Best(mother) and M.C. “Billy” Arnold Jr(father). Her mother, Marilyn was a Delta Air Lines customer service representative and former church singer while her father, Billy was a mechanic who worked for an Atlanta freight company.
She was raised along with her younger brother, Montez, and half brother, Jermond Grant, on her father’s side and two maternal half-brothers, Tron and Cypress. She attended North Clayton High School with rapper 2 Chainz.
Monica had an interest in singing since her childhood that at the age of 2, she followed in her mother’s footsteps with regular performances at the Jones Hill Chapel United Methodist Church in Marilyn’s hometown Newnan, Georgia. In between the time period of her parents’ 1984 separation and 1987 divorce, she had several problems but she continued training in singing herself and won over 20 local singing competitions throughout her early teenage years.
By the age of 10, she became the youngest member of “Charles Thompson and the Majestics”. Besides, through her mother’s second marriage to Reverend Edward Best, she is related to rapper Ludacris and is a cousin of record producer Polow da Don.
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Monica’s Career Evolution From 1991 Till 2020
- Monica began her professional career at the age of 11 when she was offered a record deal with Dallas Austin’s Arista Records-distributed label “Rowdy Records” in 1991.
- She signed in the label in 1993 and released her triple platinum-certified debut album titled “Miss Thang” in July 1995 including singles “Don’t Take It Personal” and “Before You Walk Out of My Life”.
- Monica then signed in with Clive Davis’ Arista Records, working with whom she got much recognition with Diane Warren-written song, “For You I Will”, from the “Space Jam” soundtrack(1996).
- In May 1998, Monica worked along with Brandy and released a duet song, “The Boy Is Mine”, that became both the biggest hit of the summer and the biggest hit of 1998 in general in America.
- Her second album titled “The Boy Is Mine” was released on July 14, 1998, which became Monica’s biggest-selling album, becoming certified triple platinum.
- In 2000, Monica made her film debut with the role of Camille Livingston in “Love Song”.
- She also contributed chorus vocals for “I’ve Got to Have It”, a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and rapper Nas.
- On October 21, 2002, her third album titled “All Eyez on Me” was released, which was her first release on mentor Clive Davis’ newly founded J Records label.
- On June 17, 2003, her fourth album titled “After the Storm” was released that debuted at number one on Billboard`s Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.
- Her fifth album titled “The Makings of Me” was released in 2006 including the single, “Everytime tha Beat Drop” that debuted at no. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.
- In August 2008, Monica appeared in the Peachtree TV reality show special, “Monica: The Single” with her song, “Still Standing”. Following its success, Monica joined the production of the BET network for her own series, “Monica: Still Standing”.
- She also joined the cast of Rockmond Dunbar’s 2009 drama film, “Pastor Brown”.
- Her sixth album titled “Still Standing” was released in 2010 including the lead single, “Everything to Me”, becoming her highest-charting album in years.
- The same year, in 2010, Monica joined Trey Songz on his Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour, her first North American concert tour in ten years.
- In 2011, Monica joined the debut season of NBC’s reality talent show, “The Voice” as an adviser to musician coach Cee Lo Green.
- In April 2012, her seventh studio album, “New Life”, with singles, “Anything(To Find You)” and “Until It’s Gone”, was released marking her first release with RCA.
- In October 2013, Monica appeared on the soundtrack of Malcolm D. Lee’s Christmas comedy-drama, “The Best Man Holiday”.
- In December 2015, her eighth studio album, “Code Red” was released which received mixed reviews. In support of the album, Monica embarked on her first solo concert tour in years, The Code Red Experience to promote Code Red.
- After spending nearly 2 decades with her longtime label, “RCA Records”, Monica announced her departure in November 2016.
- In December 2018, Monica released the ballad “Be Human” to introduce The Be Human Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by herself.
- In January 2019, she released “Commitment”, the first single on her own label, Mondeenise Music, followed by the release of “Me+You”.
- On August 22, 2020, it was announced that the latest Verzuz battle would be between Monica and Brandy which is due to take place on August 31, 2020, at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Besides, she also has appeared in several series including “Living Single”(1996), “Felicity”(2001), “American Dreams”(2003) and also films, “Boys and Girls”(2000), “Love Song”(2000), and “Pastor Brown”(2009).
Source: @usatoday
Awards
- Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
- Billboard Music Award
- BET Award
- 2 BMI Pop Award
Source: @people
Who is Monica’s Husband and Children?
Monica has been married just once to date. Monica’s first and only marriage was with NBA player Shannon Brown. Brown Shannon Brown is an African-American former professional basketball player with whom Monica met for the first time when while they shot her music video for her second single “Love All Over Me” in June 2010.
Shortly after, Monica announced her engagement to Brown via her Twitter account, posting a photo of a rose-cut diamond ring. Subsequently, the couple got married in a secret ceremony at their Los Angeles home on November 22, 2010, followed by a second wedding in front of close family on July 9, 2011.
On September 3, 2013, Monica gave birth to her third child and first child with Brown, named Laiyah Shannon. However, after almost eight years of marriage, Monica filed for divorce from Brown in March 2019 and got finalized in October.
Previously, Monica has been in several relationships including a 1999 relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Jarvis Weems during which her career came to a slow down. The couple together attended the gravesite of Weems’s brother, who had died in an automobile accident at age 25 in 1998. Weems then, without warning, put a gun to his head and committed suicide.
Monica briefly dated rapper, C-Murder, up until he got incarcerated for murder in 2003. Shortly after Weems’ suicide, she met rapper Rodney “Rocko” Hill, a former SWA officer and real estate manager, and began dating the same year but their relationship ended in 2004. A few months later, Monica and Hill revived their relationship and she became pregnant with their first child.
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On May 21, 2005, she gave birth to their first son, Rocko and on Christmas Eve 2007, they became engaged once again, shortly before the birth of their second child on January 8, 2008. The son was named Romelo Montez Hill, after Monica’s younger brother, however, they parted ways in early 2010.
What is the Net Worth of Monica?
Monica has quite good earnings from her professional career as a singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Having her career started since 1995 with the release of her debut album, Monica has come a long way up leading her successful career for over 35 years now, undoubtedly managed to earn a healthy fortune from her several albums, songs, and appearances on series and movies.
With all of her sources of income, Monica has an estimated net worth of around $15 million.
How Tall is Monica?
Monica is a gorgeous Black lady who has stunning looks even in her late 30s. With her soothing voice and charming personality, Monica has managed to win several hearts all around the world. She stands tall with a height of 5ft. 7inch.(1.72 m) while her body weighs around 60kg(132 lbs).
She has a well-maintained slim body physique of measurement 33-24-34 inches with 4(US) as her dress size and 10(US) as her shoe size. She has a dark complexion with black hair and brown eyes.
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