Zoe Ever After

Brandy Norwood returns to TV screens as grown-up, soon-to-be divorcee Zoe in new sitcom Zoe Ever After (2016current). She’s been busy since her days on hit teen sitcom Moesha (1996-2001), releasing four albums, a music tour and numerous TV roles, but nothing’s more important to Brandy than raising her 13-year-old daughter Sy’rai (13), much like her new character Zoe.

Talent runs in the family. Brandy’s little brother is singer-actor Ray J (from The Rickey Smiley Show, 20132014) and their cousin is rap legend Snoop Dogg. The 37-year-old’s mom Sonja quit her HR job in 1995 to manage both Brandy and Ray J’s showbiz careers. Her starring role in Moesha put Brandy on the map and her 1998 song The Boy Is Mine with fellow R&B singer Monica cemented her star status, going double platinum in the US. In 1999, Brandy dropped out of Pepperdine University in Malibu where she was studying psychology and music performance. She was a year shy of completing her four-year degree. She doesn’t just star in Zoe Ever After; Brandy co-created and co-executive produces the BET sitcom. Plus, the theme song was composed and sung by Brandy and is set to feature on her untitled upcoming album. Her off-screen romances are as complicated as her on-screen lovers, not least of all when, to avoid media backlash as an unmarried and pregnant 24-year-old, Brandy lied to the press in 2001. She stated that she was engaged to her music producer Robert Smith – that was a lie and pair split in 2002.