Naturi Naughton is an American-born singer-songwriter, rapper and actress, who is possibly best known for her appearances in the 2009 films “Notorious” and “Fame”, and the TV series’ “Power” and “Queens.” She is also known for being a former member of the now-defunct R&B trio, 3LW.
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Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Naturi Cora Maria Naughton-Lewis is a native of East Orange, New Jersey USA, who was born under the Taurus zodiac sign on 20 May 1984, which makes her 39 years old as of 2023. She’s the daughter of the part-time paralegal Brenda Naughton, who’s a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and her husband, the retired accountant Ezra Naughton, who hails from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; she hasn’t disclosed whether she has any siblings. Naturi’s singing talent emerged after joining the Newark, New Jersey-based New Hope Baptist Church’s choir, when she was just five years old.
Naturi attended a Catholic elementary school in her hometown, and went on to join Immaculate Conception High School, in Montclair, New Jersey. She matriculated to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, then Naturi honed her singing skills at Newark School of the Arts.
Hobbies and Interest
Naturi is keen on traveling, and has toured many international destinations including Jamaica and South Africa, both for work and leisure.
She’s also fond of attending celebrity events – she served as a presenter at Black Girls Rock! Awards ceremony in New Jersey in 2018.
Moreover, Naturi is a fashion fanatic who is often spotted at various fashion events, such as the Bermuda Fashion Festival (2019), and regularly attends New York Fashion Week.
The “Queens” actress is outspoken when it comes to issues relating to the contribution of Black women in the entertainment industry – in 2017, she was invited as a guest speaker at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona.
Musical Career
When she was 15 years old (1999), Naughton collaborated with Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon to create the group 3 Lil Women, best known as 3LW. The trio signed with Epic Records and went on to release their debut single “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right)” in 2000. Subsequently, the band released their debut self-titled album in December 2000. In August 2002, Naturi left the group after disagreeing with its manager and the other two girls. After her exit, Naturi was replaced by Jessica Benson. The band went on to release the album “A Girl Can Mack” in October 2002 – the group was officially disbanded in 2007.
Naturi recorded five songs for the soundtrack of the 2009 musical teen drama movie “Fame.” In 2010, she released an EP entitled “Fame Presents Naturi Naughton as Denise: Didn’t I Tell You.” Naturi has since released various songs including “Nasty Girl,” “Girls Gonna Run That,” and “Belly of the Bitch,” among others.
Film and TV Appearances
Naughton made several appearances in film and on TV – her TV debut as Ria in an episode of the Nickelodeon teen sitcom “Taina” in 2001. In 2009, she was selected for the role of Lil’ Kim in the biographical movie “Notorious,” which is about the life of the late hip-hop artist, The Notorious B.I.G. In the same year, she portrayed Denise Dupree in the teen musical film “Fame.” In 2010, she starred alongside the likes of Bow Wow, Charlie Murphy, and Brandon T. Jackson in the Erik White-directed comedy movie “Lottery Ticket.” In 2011, Naughton starred as Bunny Brenda in the NBC TV historical crime series “The Playboy Club”, and in the year that followed, she starred as Kendra in the first season of the Lifetime network TV drama “The Client List.”
In 2014, Naughton landed one of her career-defining TV roles as Tasha St. Patrick in Courtney A. Kemp and 50 Cent’s crime drama “Power.” The TV show aired on Starz network and starred Joseph Sikora, Omari Hardwick, 50 Cent, and Michael Rainey Jr. It follows the story of James St. Patrick, aka Ghost (Hardwick), a rich businessman and owner of a New York nightclub, who doubles as a drug kingpin – Naughton portrayed her character for six years (2014-2020). Concurrently, she voiced Luna in the second, third, and fifth seasons of the preschool computer-animated educational kids’ series “Doc McStuffins.” In 2020, she portrayed Sicily Richmond in the romantic drama “Really Love.” From 2020 to 2023, she reprised her role of Tasha in the spin-off and direct sequel of “Power” entitled “Power Book II: Ghost.”
The wait for #PowerGhost is almost over!
Set a reminder to tune into the official countdown with @CourtneyKemp @50cent @michaelraineyjr @naturinaughton @maryjblige @shane_m_johnson @MethodMan moderated by: @JosephSikora4https://t.co/V8NkidZhkr
— Power Book II: Ghost (@ghoststarz) September 1, 2020
Naughton landed her next career-defining role as Jill ‘Da Thrill’ in the ABC musical drama “Queens” (2021 and ‘22). Her performance of the song “Nasty Girl” in the musical series saw her nominated for a Black Reel Award for Television for Outstanding Original Song in 2022. Most recently, in 2023, Naughton starred as Jaeda King in the film “Call Her King.”
Awards and Nominations
Naturi has won three out of the ten awards she’s been nominated for as of October 2023. In 2011, she scooped an American Black Film Festival’s Rising Star Award. Out of the four Image Awards (NAACP) she’s been nominated for, Naturi has won two for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in “Power” in 2017 and ‘18. She received an Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Award for Best Music, Adapted Song for her performance in “Fame.” Moreover, the New Jersey native is a two-time nominee for the Women’s Image Network (WIN) Awards (2015 and 2016) for her performance in “Power.”
Social Media Presence
Naughton is active on Twitter (@naturinaughton) with over 210,000 followers. She joined the platform in June 2019. Moreover, she’s very active on Instagram (@naturi4real) with over 3 million followers.
Personal Life
Naturi is a married woman – in 2019, she was introduced to the American talent manager, Angel investor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur, Xavier ‘Two’ Lewis, by Omar Hardwick. The duo dated for a few months before announcing their engagement in 2020. Lewis is the founder of the talent agency Owner’s District Management, which manages various artists and actors, including Omar Hardwick, Bow Wow, Macy Gray and Big Daddy Kane, among others. Naturi and Two walked the aisle at the Atlanta-based St. Regis Buckhead in the presence of 200+ close friends and family members on 2 April 2022. The duo welcomed their first child, a boy they named Tru Xavier Naughton, on 27 May 2023.
Previously, Naturi was in a relationship with a man named Ben. The duo welcomed a daughter named Zuri in 2017. A few months after her daughter’s birth, Naturi broke up with Ben. Naturi was rumored to be in a romantic relationship with her “Power” castmate, Sinqua Walls, but the duo has not addressed the allegation. It is also reported that she had a fling with the American R&B singer, producer, and actor, J-Boog, who was born Jarell Damonté Houston Sr.
Naturi is a very religious person who follows the Christianity religion – she goes to church at least once a week.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Naturi is of Afro-American ethnicity, has a pair of dark brown eyes and black hair. She has an hourglass body, weighing approximately 115lbs (52kgs), and is 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall. The New Jersey native’s vital statistics are 34-24-34.
Net worth
Naturi has made a name for herself in the American entertainment industry, and accumulated a good sum, thanks to her successful acting and musical careers. She is worth approximately $800,000, as of 2023. On the other hand, her husband, Lewis, is reputedly worth an estimated $1.5 million.
