Monica Denise Brown, (
née Arnold; born October 24, 1980), simply known as
Monica, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and actress. Born and raised in
College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a
traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. She rose to prominence after releasing her debut studio album
Miss Thang in 1995. It went multiplatinum, while its first two singles "
Don't Take It Personal" and "
Before You Walk Out of My Life" made her the youngest recording act to ever have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the
Billboard Top R&B Singles chart. In 1998, Monica's second album
The Boy Is Mine earned her major international chart success. Pushed by its
Grammy Award-winning
number-one hit title track, a duet with singer
Brandy, it spawned two further
Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, "
The First Night" and "
Angel of Mine", and established her position as one of the most successful of the urban R&B female vocalists to emerge in the mid to late-1990s.