Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known mononymously as Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist for teen groups. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1993, she released her debut album Brandy the following year. Norwood gained fame by starring in the UPN sitcom Moesha, and further recognition for her role in the television film Cinderella (1997) and the slasher film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). Her 1998 duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, "The Boy Is Mine", won a Grammy Award and became one of the best-selling female duets of all time.

Norwood saw continued critical and commercial success with her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004). She served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent. Soon after, Norwood released her fifth album, Human (2008) to modest commercial success.

Norwood returned to television as a contestant on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. In 2012, she became a series regular in the BET series The Game, and released her sixth album Two Eleven. In 2015, Norwood made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago, followed by her seventh and eighth studio albums, B7 (2020), and the holiday album Christmas With Brandy (2023).

Norwood has sold over 60 million records worldwide. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and an American Music Award. She has become known for her distinctive sound, characterized by her peculiar timbre, voice-layering, and intricate riffs, which has earned her the nickname "the Vocal Bible" from industry peers and critics.

Brandy Rayana Norwood was born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, the daughter of Willie Norwood, a gospel singer and choir director, and Sonja Norwood (née Bates), a district manager for H&R Block. Norwood is the older sister of entertainer Ray J. Through their mother, the two are third cousins of guitarist and singer Bo Diddley. Rapper Snoop Dogg has claimed that he and Norwood are cousins, though Norwood has stated she is unsure if they are actually related. She is also reported to be a cousin of wrestler Mercedes Moné and rapper Daz Dillinger.

Raised in a Christian household, Norwood started singing through her father's work as part of the choir at Southside Church of Christ, performing her first gospel solo at the age of two. In 1983, her parents relocated to Carson, California, where she was schooled at Bancroft Junior High School and later attended the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center. Norwood's interest in music and performing increased after becoming a fan of singer Whitney Houston at the age of seven, but at school, she experienced trouble with persuading teachers to send her on auditions as she found no support among the staff.

Norwood began entering talent shows by the time she was eleven, and, as part of a youth singing group, performed at several public functions. In 1990, she signed with Teaspoon Productions, headed by Chris Stokes and Earl Harris, who gave her work as a backing vocalist for their R&B boy band Immature and arranged the production of a demo tape. In 1993, amid ongoing negotiations with East West Records, Norwood's parents organized a recording contract with the Atlantic Recording Corporation after auditioning for Darryl Williams, the company's director of A&R. To manage her daughter, Norwood's mother resigned from her job, while Norwood herself dropped out of Hollywood High School, and was tutored privately from tenth grade onward.

During the early production stages of her debut album, Norwood was selected for a role in the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea, portraying the daughter of a single mother played by comedian Thea Vidale. Initially broadcast to high ratings, the series' viewership dwindled and ended up running for only one season, but earned her a Young Artists Award nomination for Outstanding Youth Ensemble alongside her co-stars. Norwood recalled that she appreciated the cancellation of the show as she was unenthusiastic about acting at the time, and the taping caused scheduling conflicts with the recording of her album. She stated, "I felt bad for everybody else but me. It was a good thing, because I could do what I had to do, because I wanted to sing."