Bio
Naturi Naughton is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and actress, formerly one-third of the R&B trio 3LW and best known for her roles as Denise in Fame, as Lil' Kim in Notorious and as Kendra in The Client List.
Naughton also starred as Bunny Brenda in the short-lived television drama series The Playboy Club and the feature film The Lottery Ticket, opposite Ice Cube and Bow Wow.
She played the role of Lil Kim in the critically acclaimed film Notorious, which earned her rave reviews for her breakout performance.
Shortly after Notorious, Naughton won the lead role of Denise (the role Irene Cara originated) in MGM's remake of the hit dance/musical movie Fame, starring Debbie Allen, Charles Dutton and Megan Mullally. Her version of the title song Fame landed on Billboard's Top 20 Dance/Pop Chart.
Born in East Orange, New Jersey, Naughton started singing in her church choir when she was five years old. At 15, she became a member of R&B/Pop trio 3LW and scored a record deal with Sony/Epic Records.
The group had a platinum selling album (1.6 million), toured with Destiny's Child and N'SYNC, and worked with notable producers such as P. Diddy and Full Force. The group, however, disbanded in 2002.
Naughton was an honour student at Seton Hall University where she majored in Political Science. In her junior year, she was offered the lead role of Little Inez for the National Touring Company of Hairspray, which led to her Broadway debut in Hairspray in 2006.
Naughton worked on Broadway for almost three years before she landed the role in Fame. She was later honoured at the American Black Film Festival with the 2011 Rising Icon Award.
Naughton currently resides in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.