Rozonda "Chili" Thomas
| Rozonda Thomas | |
|---|---|
Thomas in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rozonda Ocielian Thomas |
| Also known as | Chilli |
| Born |
February 27, 1971 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | fitchilli |
Rozonda Ocielian "Chilli" Thomas (born February 27, 1971) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, actress, and television personality who rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of group TLC, one of the best-selling girl groups of the 20th century.
Thomas was born in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in 1989. Her father, Abdul Ali, is of Middle Eastern and Indian descent and her mother, Ava Thomas, is of African American and Native American descent. Thomas, who had been raised by her mother, later allowed the Sally Jessy Raphael television talk show to air footage of her meeting her father for the first time in 1996.
Thomas was first a dancer for Damian Dame. In 1991, she joined TLC, replacing founding member Crystal Jones, and was nicknamed "Chilli" by Lisa Lopes so that the group could retain the name TLC. The group went on to sell over 65 million records worldwide and became the best-selling American girl group of all-time; only the Spice Girls has sold more. Chilli has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.
Since the death of group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in April 2002, Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins have occasionally performed as a duo. In 2009, Thomas and Watkins performed a series of concerts in Asia.
In late 2011, VH1 announced plans to produce a biopic on TLC to air in 2013. Thomas and Watkins have signed on as producers. Actress and singer Keke Palmer portrayed Thomas in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.
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