Brenda Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brenda Claudina Susan Artman (1969-03-02)2 March 1969 (age 56) Luton,Bedfordshire, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Television | |
| Children | 2, includingJamal |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
Musical artist | |
| Website | brendaedwardsglobal |
Brenda Claudina Susan Edwards (néeArtman; born 2 March 1969) is an English singer, actress, television personality and presenter. In 2005, she finished in fourth place on thesecond series ofThe X Factor. Since 2019, she has been a weekly panellist on theITV daytime chat showLoose Women. In October 2020, Edwards,Charlene White,Judi Love andKéllé Bryan became the first all black panel in the show's 25-year history; they have featured several times together. In January 2021, she became a presenter on theBBC One programmeSongs of Praise.[1]
Brenda Claudina Susan Artman was born on 2 March 1969 inLuton, Bedfordshire, to aSaint Vincentian family.[2][3] Edwards and her older brother Rodney were raised by relatives following the death of their parents in a car crash on 22 December 1974. Her grandmother, who was a member of theChurch of God in Christ inBury Park, encouraged her granddaughter to attend when she was eight, and Edwards soon discovered a love of music and singing, which led to joining Sunday school junior choir, and soon became the choir mistress, as well as a member of the Pentecostal Collective Church of God in Christ (COGIC) mass choir.[2]
Edwards eventually made the move fromgospel to secular music, and at 18 she sang at localnightclubs,weddings,funerals andbar mitzvahs. Prior to finding a successful entertainment career, Edwards worked full-time inaccounts.[2]
Having provided vocals for a number of unsigned and small label recordings, Edwards then found some success on the 1996 track "Wiggly World Part Two" byJunior Jack (as Mr. Jack).[2]
Edwards appeared in the second series ofThe X Factor in 2005. She was in the Over-25s category alongsideAndy Abraham,Chico Slimani andMaria Lawson, and mentored bySharon Osbourne. The first live show saw Edwards singing "Son of a Preacher Man". This was followed by performances of "Rescue Me" and "Midnight Train to Georgia". Performances of "I'm Outta Love" and "I'll Never Love This Way Again" won her a place in the semi-final, where she was voted out after her renditions of "Respect" and "Without You", with just 23 votes separating her and the act in third place.[4][5]
AfterThe X Factor, Edwards was chosen to play the role of Mama Morton in the hitWest End musicalChicago, and her run in the show continued until March 2007.[6] She was invited back to play Mama Morton over the Christmas period, between 10 December 2007 and 26 January 2008. She returned to play Mama Morton once again in November 2008, continuing in the role into early 2009.[7]
In 2007, Edwards was cast as Pearl – a role created specifically for her – in a West End production ofCarmen Jones at theRoyal Festival Hall, from 25 July until 2 September 2007.[8] The same year, she won the Favourite Reality Star award at the 2007Screen Nation awards.[9] In 2009, Edwards toured the UK in the Queen musicalWe Will Rock You as Killer Queen.[10]
On 21 June 2010, she started her role as Killer Queen in the West End production ofWe Will Rock You, replacingMazz Murray, who was on maternity leave. Edwards took two weeks off to appear in another West End musical, and then returned.[11]
In 2010, Edwards announced she would release her debut album in 2011. The first single from the album was titled "You Know How To Love Me", taken from the musicalWhen Midnight Strikes by Charles Miller and Kevin Hammonds. It received its radio premiere onBBC Radio 2 and was released on 15 November 2010.[12]
In 2012, Edwards appeared as blues singerBessie Smith in a workshop of a musical about her life.[13] The following year, Edwards played Mrs Johnson inThe Wright Way, a sitcom onBBC One.[14] In 2014, she played a commentator only seen as a giant pair of lips in theAlan Carr interactive gameshowThe Singer Takes It All.[15] Between 2015 and 2016, Edwards toured the UK and Ireland in the musicalHairspray, playing Motormouth Maybelle. In 2017, she returned to tour the UK and Ireland again withHairspray, reprising her role as Motormouth Maybelle.[16]
Between February and March 2019, Edwards was a guest panellist on ITV'sLoose Women. She was then brought in as a regular panelist to fill in forLinda Robson. Robson returned in early 2020; however, Edwards has remained on the panel ever since, making weekly appearances on the show.[17]
In July 2019, it was announced that Edwards would be playing the lead role of Delores Van Cartier in the forthcoming UK tour and West End revival ofSister Act: The Musical, withWhoopi Goldberg confirming that the part was being revised specifically to allow Edwards to play the role after being rejected from the original UK casting for being "too old". (The original versions had Delores as a 23-year-old, contrary to the older character portrayed in the movie from which the musical was based.)[18]
In January 2021, Edwards joined theBBC'sSongs of Praise.[19][20]
In June 2022, Edwards portrayed Matron "Mama" Morton in the UK tour ofChicago, as a replacement forGemma Collins, who had been forced to withdraw from the role due to a knee injury.[21]
In November 2025, Edwards originated the role of Tanya in the West End production ofPaddington: The Musical.
Edwards has two children,Jamal (1990–2022) and Tanisha, from a previous relationship. Jamal was the creator ofSB.TV and owned Just Jam, a subsidiarySony record label, until his death in 2022. She toldColeen Nolan that he died holding her hand.[22] In 2011, Edwards and Jamal featured in an advert forGoogle Chrome.[10]
Edwards has hadstage IIIbreast cancer,[23] and surviveddomestic violence at the hands of a former partner.[24]
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