Birth name: Monica Denise Arnold Born: October 24, 1980 (1980-10-24) Origin: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Genres: R&B, hip hop, soul, pop Occupations: Singer-songwriter, actress, radio personality, television personality, record producer, fashion designer, dancer Years active: 1991–present Labels: J, Worldwide Associated acts: Rocko,Dallas Austin, Tim & Bob, Brandy, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Ludacris, Mia X, Trey Songz Website: www.monica.com *Monica Denise Arnold (born October 24, 1980), professionally known as Monica, is an American R&B recording artist and entertainer. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, Monica began performing as a child, enrolling in several local singing competitions prior to becoming part of Charles Thompson and the Majestics, a traveling gospel choir, by the time she was ten. At age thirteen, she signed a recording contract with Arista Records. Guided by producer Dallas Austin and his protégés Tim & Bob, Arnold came to prominence following the release of her debut album Miss Thang in 1995, whose 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 U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart. Her second album The Boy Is Mine was released in 1998 and earned her major international chart success. Pushed by its same-titled number-one hit, a Grammy Award-winning duet with singer Brandy, it spawned two further 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. In the early 2000s, Arnold`s career went under hiatus as she was experiencing increasing personal struggles, including the suicide of her boyfriend, a tumultuous relationship with rapper C-Murder and the delay of her heavily-bootlegged third album, All Eyez on Me (2002). In 2003, she eventually released her fourth album After the Storm, and after an unsuccessful period, she scored her sixth number one single, "So Gone." Her latest album Still Standing, whose recording was tracked by her co-produced BET reality series of the same name, was released in 2010 and produced the hit single "Everything to Me", it became her seventh number one hit single. Arnold has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide, including over five million units in the United States alone. With a career lasting over 15 years, in 2010 she became the first artist to top the U.S Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. In the same year, Billboard listed Arnold at number 24 on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip Hop Artists of the past 25 years.