| Toni Michelle Braxton is a six-time Grammy Award winning American R&B singer. She is most notable for her dark, deep, thick contralto vocals, which are low even by contralto standards. Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland, and is the oldest of six children. She attended Richard Henry Lee Elementary School, Corkran Middle School, and Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Her father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Braxton's first performing experience was singing with a church choir. She attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career. Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "The Good Life", was released in 1990. Though the song was not very successful, it attracted the attention of producing team Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. With Braxton's low register sounding similar to that of Anita Baker, Reid and Babyface recruited her to record a demo of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", a song that they had written specifically for Baker to appear on the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film, Boomerang. Baker passed on the song but suggested that Braxton herself record the final version. The endorsement worked in Braxton's favor, as her recording was included on the soundtrack along with "Give U My Heart", a duet by Braxton and Babyface. Both songs garnered radio attention in the closing months of 1992 and effectively introduced Braxton to the record buying public. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds' Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album. Braxton has appeared on Broadway in two Disney shows: "Beauty and the Beast" (as Belle) in 1998 and "Aida" (as Aida) in 2003,Her role in "Beauty and the Beast" marked the first time an African American commanded the leading role of Belle.In 2001, she made her acting debut in the feature film Kingdom Come. In August 2005, Braxton announced that she would be shooting a sitcom pilot for The WB's fall 2006 line-up, though plans to put the show into full-production fell through when The WB announced it would cease to exist in fall 2006 (as part of a merger with UPN to form The CW).
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