Deborah Cox

Canadian R&B/Soul Singer-songwriter and Actress.

Born July 13, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart (14 weeks), a record held for nearly eight years.

She has achieved eleven number-one hits on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

She is often cited as Canada's top R&B artist.

She is the daughter of parents of African Guyanese descent, they grew up in Scarborough, Toronto and attended John XXIII Catholic Primary School and Earl Haig Secondary School.

She began singing for TV commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows with the help of her mother. She performed in nightclubs as a teenager, and began to write music around the same time.

Cox entered the music industry in the early 1990s, performing as a backup vocalist for Celine Dion for six months.

After receiving many rejection letters from Canadian record labels that claimed their "quota" had been reached, Cox moved to Los Angeles in 1994 with producer and songwriting partner, Lascelles Stephens.

Wife of Lascelles Stephens, mother of Kaila Stephens and Sumayah Stephens, sister of Karen Holness and Nicole Holness.