Naturi Naughton Biography

Naturi Cora Maria Naughton (born May 20, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and actress. Naughton is formerly one-third of the R&B trio 3LW and is perhaps best known for her roles in Fame, Notorious, and The Playboy Club. Naughton was a series regular in season one of the Lifetime television drama series The Client List as Kendra.

Early life and education

Naughton was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Brenda, a part-time paralegal, and Ezra Naughton, a retired accountant. Her musical talent first emerged at the age of five years old, when she joined her church choir at New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, New Jersey. She attended St. Joseph's Catholic school, and later attended Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair, New Jersey. It was soon after that time, Naughton was discovered. She has sung the national anthem at various events in New Jersey and attended Seton Hall University.

Career

3LW

In 1999, at age 15, Naughton joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams to form the group 3LW. Their first single, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)", was released in the fall of 2000. "No More" was a success and was followed by the second single, "Playas Gon' Play" in early 2001. The group's debut album, 3LW, was released on December 5, 2000. The album went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the U.S. In the summer of 2001, the group went on the MTV TRL tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.

3LW spent the first half of 2002 in the studio, recording an album tentatively titled Same Game, Different Rules. The album and its intended lead single "Uh Oh" were presented to the label, who felt it did not have enough urban radio appeal. The tracks from Same Game, Different Rules were leaked to the Internet in MP3 format, and Epic considered dropping the band. A fan support campaign for 3LW named 'Never Let Go of 3LW' followed, and the act was retained. Recording a new set of tracks, 3LW returned in the summer of 2002 with the P. Diddy-produced single "I Do (Wanna Get Close To You)", featuring Loon.

By August 2002, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack, when Naughton announced that she was no longer a member of the group. Naughton says that the other two girls and their management had forced her out. The problems reached a breaking point after a heated argument with Williams, Bailon, and their manager, which allegedly ended with Williams throwing a hot plate full of KFC food at Naughton. Epic Records then ended their relationship with both 3LW and Naughton. Despite Naughton's departure both Bailon and Williams resumed as a duo for a short amount of time and later Jessica Benson became Naughton's replacement. The group has since disbanded.

Solo work

Naughton recorded five tracks for the Fame soundtrack which was released on August 25, 2009. The following month Naughton scored her first solo chart entry ever with her cover of Fame peaking at No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also reached the Top 20 in Finland, Portugal and Norway. In 2010 an Extended Play was released titled Fame Presents Naturi Naughton as Denise. The EP included tracks already heard before as well as previously unreleased tracks.

In February 2010, when appearing on the BET talk show The Mo'Nique Show, Naughton expressed interest in recording a solo-debut album. However, Naughton has revealed she is instead focusing on her acting career but has not ruled out an album. An ensemble of demos have leaked to the internet, including a duet with Lil' Kim. However, it is unknown whether or not they will be released on her debut album. She was believed to be working with music producer Full Force at the time.

Acting work

Throughout 2005 to 2008, Naughton starred in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hairspray as Little Inez. In March 2008 Naughton was cast to portray Grammy Award-winning rap artist Lil' Kim in Notorious, a biopic film about The Notorious B.I.G. The film was released in January 2009 to mixed reviews and went on to make over $43 million worldwide. Lil' Kim has stated that Naughton was the worst possible choice to play her.

Naughton was cast as Denise, an aspiring singer, in the Lionsgate remake of the 1980 film of the same name Fame. Filming took place in New York City and Los Angeles in November and December 2008. The film was released in September 2009 and opened No. 3 at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend despite negative reviews from critics. The film went on to make $77 million worldwide.

In August 2010, Naughton was announced to appear in an episode of the award-winning AMC drama television series Mad Men. Naughton portrays the role of Toni Charles, a Playboy Bunny mistress to the character Lane Pryce. The episode, "Hands and Knees", aired on September 26, 2010. The role marked the second time Naughton portrayed a fictional Playboy Bunny. That same month Naughton appeared in the Warner Bros. Pictures comedy film Lottery Ticket.

In March 2011, Naughton appeared in the drama television series pilot The Playboy Club which centers around the lives of the employees of the original Playboy Club operating in Chicago. The series was picked up by NBC in May 2011. Naughton portrayed the role of Brenda, a Playboy Bunny who dreams of being the first African-American Playboy centerfold. The series premiered on September 19, 2011 and was cancelled after three episodes due to low ratings.

In October 2011, Naughton appeared in an episode of the FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Naughton portrays the role of a 1970s jazz club singer named Shadynasty.

In December 2011, Naughton was announced to have been cast in the Lifetime drama television series The Client List opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt. The series is a re-imagining of the 2010 film of the same name The Client List. Naughton portrays the role of Kendra a hard-working masseuse at a parlor. The series premiered on April 8, 2012 to 2.79 million viewers and mixed reviews from critics. In May 2012 Lifetime renewed the series for a 15-episode second season.

In September 2012, Naughton starred in the BET original film Let The Church Say Amen which is adapted from author ReShonda Tate Billingsley's 2005 best-selling novel of the same name. The film was the directorial debut of actress Regina King.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2008	Cash Rules	Unknown Role	Minor
2009	Notorious	Lil' Kim	Lead
	Fame	Denise	Lead
2010	Lottery Ticket	Stacie	Lead
	Highland Park	Char	Supporting
	Four to the Floor	Zoe	Supporting
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Taina	Ria	Guest with 3LW
2002	The Nick Cannon Show	Herself	Guest with 3LW
	All That	Herself	Music Guest with 3LW
2010	Mad Men	Toni Charles	Supporting
2011	The Playboy Club	Brenda	Lead
	It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia	Shadynasty	Guest
2012	The Client List	Kendra	Lead
2013	Let's Stay Together	Sharon	Guest
Broadway
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005"2008	Hairspray	Little Inez	Replacement