Naturi Naughton
Naturi Naughton
Naturi Cora Maria Naughton is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Naughton was one-third of the R&B trio 3LW and is best known for her roles in Fame, Notorious, where she portrayed the iconic role of Lil Kim, and The Playboy Club. Naughton was a series regular in season one of the Lifetime television drama series The Client List as Kendra. Naughton currently stars in the hit Starz drama Power as Tasha St. Patrick...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionR&B Singer
Date of Birth20 May 1984
CityEast Orange, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
I was pretty young when I decided I wanted to, well, more so be a singer. I started singing in church in my hometown, East Orange, New Jersey. I knew when I was about five or six that I wanted to be a performer.
Oh, you know, I think it was definitely a little pressure, to remake something like 'Fame'.
I'm a true singer who grew up singing in church, so I love singing my heart out.
Singing is my passion and something that I still love to do and I'm always going to want to do it.
I don't just want to be a cute girl in a comedy or the actress who just does the same thing over and over again. I want to play roles that are distinct. I want to have a more varied career like actresses Viola Davis or Angela Bassett - those are the people that I grew up watching and admiring.
From film to film, I realize my strengths and my weakness, and I realize how much better I get. I learn the lingo, I ask questions and I'm on set trying to figure out which shots they're going to use. For me, it's exploring the art. It's not just making a movie.
I definitely want my career to continue to branch out. I've had the pleasure of working in different areas of entertainment, from being in the music business as a teenager in a girl group to doing Broadway.
One thing I'm passionate about is directing. I've always wanted to direct.
You have to think like a businessman or a businesswoman, and I can't wait to continue to grow, as an actress, but to also continue to grow as a brand and show people that I have so much more to offer.
For people who don't know or didn't know that I started off as a singer, singing requires a certain level of drama, in itself. Honestly, it really prepared me to do this, and I've been really blessed to be able to transition into the acting world very smoothly.
When I was young, I was always telling my parents and telling everybody that I was going to be a singer and an actress when I grew up. I took classes. I was in dance lessons. I took singing lessons. I was in the plays. I took acting lessons. I did different things that continued to keep me ready for this opportunity and ready for all the things that are happening now.
I definitely feel like, as a singer, I've been able to transition into acting because I always saw them in the same vein. It's all about connecting and telling a story.