Farrah Franklin
Age: 43
Farrah Franklin (born May 3, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is a former member of Destiny's Child who replaced LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett alongside Michelle Williams.
Recording and movie career
1999-2000: Destiny's Child
In 1999, Franklin was hired to be an extra in the music video for Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills". It was there that she met with group members Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson. At the time she was in a fledgling singing group called Jane Doe, which was in the process of disbanding.
In December 1999, Matthew Knowles invited Franklin and Michelle Williams to join Destiny's Child—replacing previous group members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett without notice. The two were introduced in February 2000 via the music video for "Say My Name". Franklin toured and performed with the group, and also appeared in the music video for "Jumpin', Jumpin'".
Franklin's vocal contributions included, "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (the remixes), "Upside Down" (Live at VH1 Divas) "Big Momma's Theme" (from "Big Momma's House"), "Dot", "8 Days of Christmas", and some songs from Survivor, including "Independent Women", "Independent Women Part II", "Dance With Me" and "Like Dat" (which was cut from the album).
On July 20, 2000, after 6 months with Destiny's Child, Franklin was supposedly dismissed from the group. According to a later interview, Franklin suffered from dehydration and was recovering as she headed to do a show in Seattle with the group. After being verbally attacked by group members and management due to her sick appearance, Farrah stormed out of the room and left the group. Days later, news spread stating that Franklin was released when indeed, she left the group on the evening of the Seattle show. Shortly thereafter, group member Beyoncé Knowles stated in an interview that Franklin had missed three major dates and expressed a lack of interest in continuing with the group, leaving them with no other choice but to dismiss her.
2001-present: Solo projects
After leaving Destiny's Child, Franklin began a solo career. She signed to and was dropped from Fo-reel Entertainment in 2002, where she recorded a song titled "Get at Me" with Method Man. She was then signed and dropped from the Fabolous street label. She also began an acting career, and starred in The Brewster Project in 2004. She finished shooting an independent thriller film called Eyes of Darkness, which also features rapper Jayo Felony. Before joining Destiny's Child, Franklin also made an appearance in the 1999 feature film, Trippin'. Franklin has modeled for Russell Simmons' fashion line, Def Jam University and has been featured on the covers of Teen People, Ebony, Cosmo Girl, Vibe, and Today's Black Woman.
In early 2007, Franklin appeared with other former members of Destiny's Child in the E! special Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which documented their experiences in Destiny's Child and the issues that Franklin caused during the weeks she was present in the group. Aside from her work as an extra in Destiny's Child, she has also appeared in videos for Mr. Cheeks, and R. L. Huggar. In 2009, Franklin attempted to form her own group called "Pheenx" composing of Franklin herself, Bethany Grant, and Queen. The group so far only recorded two songs called "Post Boy" and "Sharpshooter" with the help of Blaque Rose Entertainment. However after a couple weeks since the group's formation, Bethany Grant was dismissed from the group due to her involvement in pornographic scenes therefore announcing that they are looking for a new member. After several months of inactivity and lack of updates on that same year, the group disbanded.
She has been working on her debut album, for fifteen years since her dismissal from Destiny's Child, and she has announced that she will be releasing her single called "Magic & Make Up" on iTunes in September 15, 2015 and the music video for the single released on September 24 on her official Vevo Channel. She owns a company called One Love Pictures and Entertainment.
Filmography
- The Brewster Project (2004) as Maya
- All of Us (TV series; episode: "Robert and Neesee Get Real") (2006)
- Tamales and Gumbo (2008)
- Unemployed (2008) as Unemployment Clerk
- Single Black Female (2009) as Karma
- The Preacher's Family (2011) as LaJune Carter
Discography
Albums
- Magic & Make Up EP
Singles
- Magic & Make Up - September 15, 2015
Other Songs
- Get At Me (ft. Method Man)
- Hurry Please
- Extraordinary Love
- Candy Girl (ft. Erin Bria Wright)
- More Than A Pretty Face (ft. Fabolous)
- Lolli Pop
- Heartache
- Stupid Me