Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins

Tionne Tenese Watkins was born on April 26, 1970 in Des Moines, Iowa. She is also known as "T-Boz" in the R&B/Hip-Hop group, TLC. Born to parents of both African American and Native American descent. As a child she was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia (1 in 12 people of African American descent have the disease). She is the founder of the group TLC and is usually the lead singer. She often shares lead vocals with Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas who also sings lead on some songs performed by the group. Since childhood, she has been in and out of the hospital, due to her sickle cell disease. At the age of nine, her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Tionne's mother and father (divorced when she was 3) were also musicians/singers and sang in a group together. Tionne knew from early childhood that she wanted to one day become a performer too. As a teenager she was a hair model, and eventually became a manicurist and shampoo girl at a popular Atlanta hair salon. In her free time she pursued her pa