| Rozonda Thomas | |
| Birth Name: | Rozonda Ocielian Thomas |
| Alias: | Chilli |
| Birth Date: | 27 February 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1991–present |
| Current Member Of: | TLC |
Rozonda Ocielian Thomas (born February 27, 1971), better known by her stage name Chilli, is an American singer, dancer and actress who is a member of the group TLC, one of the best-selling girl groups of the late 1990s.
Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia and graduated from Benjamin Elijah Mays High School in 1989.[1] Her father, Abdul Ali, is of Bangladeshi and Arab descent, while her mother, Ava Thomas, is African American and Native American.[2] [3] [4]
Thomas, who had been raised by her mother, later allowed the Sally Jessy Raphael television talk show to air footage of her meeting her father for the first time in 1996, when she was 25.[2] [5] When she was a child, her great-grandmother, whom she called Big Mama, took her to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[6]
See main article: TLC (group). Thomas was first a dancer for Damian Dame. In 1991, she joined TLC, replacing founding member Crystal Jones, and was nicknamed "Chilli" by Lisa Lopes so that the group could retain the name TLC. The group went on to sell over 65 million records worldwide and became the best-selling American girl group of all-time; only the Spice Girls has sold more.[7] Chilli has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.[8]
Since the death of group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in April 2002, Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins have occasionally performed as a duo. In 2009, Thomas and Watkins performed a series of concerts in Asia.[9]
In late 2011, VH1 announced plans to produce a biopic on TLC to air in 2013.[10] Thomas and Watkins signed on as producers. Actress and singer Keke Palmer portrayed Thomas in .[11]
In 2019, Thomas lost her voice and was ordered by doctors not to sing. TLC then had to cancel their singing for the California State Fair and the Stanislaus State Fair.[12]
Thomas began working on a solo album in 2000 after the completion of promotion for TLC's third album, FanMail (1999). She paused production when work began on the next TLC album, 3D (2002). In 2006, it was reported that she had signed with Akon's record label Konvict Muzik and that her debut album would be released the following year, but this never came to fruition.[13] In early April 2008, Thomas's first official solo single, "Dumb, Dumb, Dumb" was released.[14] In 2012, she performed a track called "Flirt" on a second season episode of Single Ladies.[15]
In January 2016, she released the single "Body", which served to promote her fitness workout campaign.[16]
Thomas has made guest appearances on television shows such as The Parkers, That 70s Show, Living Single and Strong Medicine. In 1992, she had a brief cameo in the music video for "Jump" by Kris Kross. In 2000, she was featured in the made-for-television movies A Diva's Christmas Carol and Love Song (with close friend Monica), and in the film Snow Day. In 2001, she co-starred in the action film Ticker, directed by Albert Pyun. She also played a small role in House Party 3 and the 1997 film Hav Plenty.
In 2005, Thomas and Watkins looked for a new TLC member in the reality series R U The Girl.[17] In June 2009, VH1 announced the airing of a reality TV series starring Thomas. The series, What Chilli Wants, which documents Thomas's quest to find love and manage her life with the help of love and relationship expert Tionna Tee Smalls, premiered on April 11, 2010.[18] The second season of What Chilli Wants premiered on January 2, 2011.[19] In 2011, Thomas made cameo appearances throughout the first season of VH1's Single Ladies. In 2012, Thomas appeared as the leading lady in R&B singer Tyrese's music video for his single "Nothing On You".
In 2013, Thomas became a member of "Team Guy" on the second season of Food Network's . She appeared naked in a PETA anti-circus ad campaign.[20] Thomas also appeared on episode 14 of WWE Countdown where she spoke about The Rock.[21] Thomas was later a judge for truTV's reality series Fake Off, which premiered on October 27, 2014.[22]
In 2017, she portrayed Zora Neale Hurston in Marshall, a biographical film about the life of Thurgood Marshall.[23]
At age 20, Thomas became pregnant by producer Dallas Austin. Due to career aspirations and outside pressures, she aborted the pregnancy. She later revealed that she regretted the decision. Thomas and Austin continued their relationship and later had a son, Tron Austin (born June 2, 1997).[24]
In 2001, Thomas began dating Usher, after she starred in his music videos for "U Remind Me", "U Got It Bad", and "U Don't Have to Call". Their relationship ended in 2003.[25]
In late 2022, Thomas began dating actor Matthew Lawrence. The pair went public with their relationship in January 2023.[26] [27]
She is a member of the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church.[28] [29]
Thomas and the other members of TLC were big proponents of encouraging safe sex. For the music video of the song, "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" Thomas and her band members wore condoms on their clothing. In 2003, Thomas and Watkins teamed up with Agouron Pharmaceuticals to create a national education program about HIV/AIDS. The program supplied people with information about HIV/AIDS, including prevention and treatment.[30]
In 2012, Thomas started a non-profit organization called Chilli's Crew. The organization is an Atlanta-based program targeted at helping girls between the ages of 13 and 17 build healthy levels of self-esteem.[31]
In 2013, Thomas took a stand against cyberbullying after her son Tron was a victim. The gossip site MediaTakeOut.com targeted Thomas's son because of his apparel and questioned his sexuality. In response, Thomas created a petition through change.org to get the article deleted from the site and to stop staff members from gossiping about minors entirely. In her petition, she described what cyberbullying is and statistics about some of the victims. The site ended up removing the article and issuing an apology to her son.[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | House Party 3 | Sex As A Weapon | Credited as TLC |
| 1997 | Hav Plenty | Kris | |
| 2000 | Snow Day | Mona | |
| Love Song | House Director | TV movie | |
| A Diva's Christmas Carol | Marli Jacob | TV movie | |
| 2001 | Ticker | Lilly McCutcheon | |
| 2017 | Marshall | Zora Neale Hurston | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | 1st Rapper as TLC | Episode: "Words Up!" |
| Out All Night | Herself as TLC | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| Showtime at the Apollo | Herself as TLC | Episode: "#6.12" | |
| 1995 | Living Single | Herself | Episode: "The Following Is a Sponsored Program" |
| 1999 | Ultra Sound | Herself (as TLC) | Episode: "TLC: You've Got Mail" |
| Behind the Music | Herself | Episode: "TLC" | |
| 2001 | Top Ten | Herself | Episode: "Girl Bands" |
| 2003 | That '70s Show | Hot Nurse | Episode: "You Shook Me" |
| Born to Diva | Judge | TV series | |
| 2004 | The Parkers | Kai | Episode: "She's Positive" |
| Strong Medicine | Amber Steele | Episode: "Touched by an Idol" | |
| Behind the Music | Herself | Episode: "TLC: The Final Chapter" | |
| 2005 | R U the Girl | Herself/hostess | TV series |
| 2009 | Black to the Future | Herself | Segment: The Most Groovetastic Songs |
| 2010 | Undateable | Herself | Episode: "Hour 2" & "Hour 5" |
| 2010-11 | What Chilli Wants | Herself | Main cast |
| 2011-12 | Single Ladies | Herself | Recurring cast: season 1, guest: season 2 |
| 2013 | Herself / Contestant | Main cast: season 2 | |
| Guy's Big Bite | Herself | Episode: "Soup's On, Chill Out" | |
| 2016 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself as TLC | Episode: "Zoe Saldana vs. Zachary Quinto" |
| 2017 | Party Legends | Herself | Episode: "Beating Arsenion Hall in the Chest Repeatedly" |
| 2018 | Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party | Herself | Episode: "Spicing it Up" |
| 2019 | Girls Cruise | Herself | Main cast |