Overview
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.
Mel B debuted as a solo artist in 1998 with the release of "I Want You Back" which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. Mel B released her debut solo album Hot in 2000. It spawned the singles "Tell Me" and "Feels So Good" which both reached the top 5 in the UK charts. She released her second solo album, L.A. State of Mind (2005), which spawned the single "Today". Mel B released "For Once in My Life" in 2013, her first single in eight years; it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Since 2007, Mel B has established herself as a television personality and talent show judge. She participated in the fifth season of the American dance competition series Dancing with the Stars (2007), finishing in second place with her professional partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Between 2011 and 2016, Mel B served as a guest and main judge on the Australia and UK shows of The X Factor. She also co-presented the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars for one season (2012). Mel B judged on the NBC reality show America's Got Talent (2013–2018), served as a coach and mentor on The Voice Kids Australia (2014) and judged on The Masked Singer Australia (2022–). From 2016 to 2018, she co-presented Lip Sync Battle UK alongside rapper Professor Green and served as a judge on Queen of the Universe (2023).
Early life
Melanie Janine Brown was born in Harehills, Leeds, and grew up in the Burley area of the city, the daughter of Andrea and Martin Brown. Her father is from Saint Kitts and Nevis and her mother is English. Through her mother, Mel B is a first cousin of actor and director Christian Cooke; Cooke's mother Di, and Mel B's mother Andrea, are sisters. Mel B studied performing arts at Intake High School in Bramley, Leeds before entering the entertainment industry. For a time, she worked as a dancer in Blackpool, Lancashire.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
