Who Is Jessica Betts? Get To Know Niecy Nash’s New Wife
The musician and actress tied the knot in August.
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Who Is Jessica Betts? - At the end of August, fans of Niecy Nash were shocked after the celebrated actress revealed that she had tied the knot with musician Jessica Betts. Not much is known about the elusive singer-songwriter, so we did deep dive to find out more about Nash’s talented love.(Photo from left: (Gregg DeGuire/WireImage and Larry French/BET/Getty Images for BET) jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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She's a Windy City transplate in NYC. - According to her official website, Betts who is originally from Chicago, relocated to the Big Apple to pursue her musical aspirations as a singer-songwriter. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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She is a musician. - As someone who grew up singing in church, Betts’ artistry is influenced and inspired by the classic works of Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, Kim Burrell, and Tracy Chapman. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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She was a legendary R&B group's protégé. - According to her website, when she was 18 year old, the Windy City native had the chance to work with legendary R&B ensemble, Boyz II Men. They signed her to their record label, Stonecreek Records, in 1998. Two years, later signed to Restless Records where she released her debut album,You Can’t Resist, before parting ways with the label shortly after. Betts has songwriting credits for several major motion picture films, including Martin Lawrence’s Big Momma’s House, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s romantic comedy, Simply Irresistible, and Ja Rule’s action hood flick, Turn It Up. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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Missy Elliott co-signed her. - In 2005, the singer-songwriter competed on and won Missy Elliott’s The Road to Stardom reality competition. Following the show, she took a self-induced hiatus from the industry, telling EBONY in 2012, “my break was basically to find Jessica first. I needed to build a shield to protect myself and get to a point where I felt strong enough to embark on this incredible journey.” Betts returned and released an album, titled Jessie Pearl. In 2011, she was inducted as a BET Music Matters artist. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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Melody Maker - So far, Betts has released a handful of LPs and singles, including LLCoolJess, Earthquake, “Holding On,” “So Hot,” and “Take You Back.” She dropped her latest single, in 2018, titled “Catch Me.” jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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She’s got range. - Betts has put her singing chops on display with covers of records such as Beyoncé’s “Sorry,” Prince’s “Kiss,” and Julia Michaels’ “Issues. She is also a talented guitarist. While speaking with EBONY in 2012, she shared that her dream collaborations would be India. Arie, Lauryn Hill, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Brandy, and Monica. “I just wanna put hip-Hop, R&B, and pop in a bottle and shake things up,” the singer told the publication. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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Rockin With The Best - Jessica has worked alongside producer Timbaland, Brian Michael Cox, and Missy Elliott. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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She appeared on Claws. - Betts made an appearance in the season finale of TNT's acclaimed dramedy, Claws, as Nadege in 2018, in which Nash portrayed the titular character, Desna Simms. jessicabettsmusic/Instagram
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