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Biography

Kandi Lenice Burruss (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, television personality, actress, businesswoman, and producer. She first gained recognition in 1992 as a member of the multi-platinum R&B female vocal group Xscape. As a songwriter, she has received writing credits on the singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child, "There You Go" by Pink, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande, and "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran. In 2000, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her work on the TLC hit song "No Scrubs". Her debut single "Don't Think I'm Not", as well as her appearances on the singles "4, 5, 6" by Solé, and E-40's "U and Dat" alongside T-Pain, have all reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. She has starred in the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta since its second-season premiere on July 30, 2009, making her the longest serving cast member in The Real Housewives franchise. She has appeared in six Real Housewives spin-offs and companion series as of 2022, beginning with 2012's The Kandi Factory, and continuing on with Kandi's Wedding (2014), Kandi's Ski Trip (2015), Xscape: Still Kickin' It (2017), and Kandi & the Gang (2022), all of which were aired by Bravo. She also appeared as a guest in Kim Zolciak's wedding special Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding (2012). She competed in the third season of the Fox competition series The Masked Singer and and on the second season of Celebrity Big Brother on CBS. In 2023, her production work on a 2022 Broadway production of the play The Piano Lesson earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. She and her ex-boyfriend, Russell "Block" Spencer of Block Entertainment, have a daughter named Riley Burruss (born on August 22, 2002). In late 2008, she started dating Ashley "A.J." Jewell and after several months, the couple became engaged in January 2009; however, Jewell died on October 2, 2009, after sustaining head injuries in a brawl. On January 15, 2013, she announced via Twitter that she was engaged to Todd Tucker, a former line producer for The Real Housewives of Atlanta, whom she had been dating since 2011 while filming the fourth season. They married on April 4, 2014, and had a son (born January 6, 2016) and a daughter, via surrogate (born November 22, 2019).