Naturi Naughton

Like a lot of young vocalists, Naturi Naughton started honing her skills in the church choir, singing with the congregation from the time she was five years old. In 1999, at age 15, Naughton formed the group 3LW with two friends from school, and released the single "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)," with an album to follow the next year. The group found success with radio play and regular rotation on MTV, and went back into the studio to work on their next album, but issues with their record company put the project on hold. The group released a handful of subsequent singles before Naughton left the project, and got to work on a solo record. She also pursued a successful career on Broadway, playing Little Inez in the hit musical Hairspray from 2005-2008. Having successfully bridged the gap between music and acting, Naughton then signed on to play hip-hop icon Lil' Kim in the 2009 Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious.

by Cammila Albertson, AMG