From singing to dancing to acting, Brandy Norwood has done it all.
If you don't recognize that last name, however, that's probably because, for most of her career,
Norwood has gone by the mononym Brandy.
And from the very beginning, Brandy was destined to be a star.
At just two-years-old, the Mississippi-native sang her first solo at church.
In 1993, at the age of 14, she was signed to Atlantic Records.
By the next year, she had dropped her eponymous debut album, Brandy.
In 1996, Brandy landed a starring role on the UPN-produced sitcom, Moesha.
The show, which was a pretty big success for the network, ended up running for six seasons
before going off the air in 2003.
And in the midst of her Moesha fame, Brandy was hand-picked by Whitney Houston to star
alongside the late legend in The Wonderful World of Disney's 1997 remake of Rodgers and
Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Brandy enjoyed mainstream success throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, putting
out a number of well-received albums as well as landing roles across television and movies.
But from 2004 until 2008, the star stepped away from the spotlight.
Talking to MTV about her four-year hiatus, Brandy explained:
"I went through a struggle, and I really needed to get myself together and connect with my
purpose, which is music.
It just feels good to be back, and I never wanna leave for that long again."
Considering the fact that Brandy has enjoyed a career that has spanned more than two decades,
it's no surprise that, in addition to earning herself millions of fans all over the world,
she's also earned millions of dollars.
How much?
Well, according to the guesstimation website Celebrity Net Worth, the star is currently
sitting on a fortune of around $14 million.
So where exactly did all that money come from?
Well, the star started taking home a pretty nice paycheck during her Moesha days.
According to the New York Post, in 1999 Brandy was reportedly earning more than $90,000 per
episode.
By the end of it's run, UPN had aired more than 100 episodes of Moesha, so it's probably
safe to say that Brandy made a pretty penny playing the titular character.
Aside from her numerous acting gigs, Brandy also has her music career to thank for making
her a millionaire.
Over the course of her career, the singer has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide
and became ranked one of the best-selling female artists in American music history by
the RIAA.
Although Brandy hasn't released an album since 2012's Two Eleven, her back catalog continues
to perform well for her.
Unfortunately, in 2006, tragedy struck, when Brandy was involved in a car accident which
claimed the life of a 38-year-old mother of two.
While Brandy didn't end up facing criminal charges for the fatal car accident, she did
face four wrongful-death lawsuits, including one from the deceased victim's parents, who
levied a $50 million suit against her.
Ultimately, the singer didn't end up having to pay the $50 million, but she did reach
a $600,000 settlement with the victim's children - paying each of them $300,000.
And while the victim's husband initially rejected a settlement offer of $1.2 million in February
2009, by November of that year the singer and the widower had settled on an undisclosed
amount.
When all was said and done, having to fork up a fraction of her millions didn't really
phase the star.
What was more important to her was asking for forgiveness from those she had hurt - and
finding a way to forgive herself.
In 2014, Brandy opened up to Oprah about the tragic event on an episode of Oprah: Where
Are They Now?.
"I just couldn't believe it, and I don't like to think about it because I don't think that
it's something I can ever get over."
Brandy went on to say that it was during that difficult time that she really leaned on her
faith, focusing more on increasing her self-worth than her net worth.
"For me, that's when I realized God is real."
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