Tionne Watkins

Tionne Tenese Watkins, better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, author, and executive producer. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.

In addition to her work with TLC, Watkins recorded solo singles, including "Touch Myself" and "My Getaway." In addition, she has been a featured vocalist on such songs as "Ghetto Love" with Da Brat, "Changes" with Society of Soul, "He Say She Say" with Keith Sweat, "Different Times" with Raphael Saadiq, and "Be Somebody" with Paula Cole. In 2013, Watkins released her first solo single in over 15 years titled "Champion." The song was released digitally, and proceeds went to help raise awareness for people suffering from blood conditions such as Sickle Cell. In 2017, Watkins released her latest single digitally from her audiobook "A Sick Life" titled "Dreams."

As a child, Watkins was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. Since the age of seven, she has been in and out of the hospital due to the painful condition. In October 2009, Watkins revealed that she had secretly battled a potentially fatal brain tumor for three years. She was diagnosed as having a grape-sized acoustic neuroma on her vestibular nerve that affected her balance, weight, hearing, sight, and facial movement. Many physicians refused to remove the tumor due to her sickle-cell-related complications, leaving her alternatives grim, but she underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

Watkins is now the mother of two children and remains an advocate for people living with blood disorders.