Toni Braxton

There’s no denying it. Toni Braxton has already done the damn thing!

But the Grammy-winning, multimillion-selling R&B/pop icon, actress/producer, business entrepreneur, best-selling author and philanthropist will be the first to tell you that she’s not done building out her storied career just yet.

“In crafting a career, you can’t be afraid,” declares Braxton. “It’s about always moving forward. The confidence that I have is so much more different now that I’m fifty-fine years old. I love this state of mind that I’m in!”

It’s that fearless mindset that continues to inspire and guide Braxton as she powers up a slate of projects that includes a movie production deal with a major television network and a skincare line. Fans will also be delighted to learn that the timeless voice behind these classic hits —“Love Shoulda Brought You Home,” “Another Sad Love Song,” “Breathe Again,” “Seven Whole Days,” “Un-Break My Heart” and “He Wasn’t Man Enough” — is now back in the studio recording new music.

A new song with none other than LL Cool J has already been recorded with several mixes of it currently in the works. The yet-untitled, forthcoming single will appear on Braxton’s 10th solo studio album. The album will be the follow-up to 2020’s Spell My Name, which yielded the singer-songwriter her 10th and 11th No. 1s on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart: “Do It” and “Gotta Move On.”

“I’ve wanted to work with LL for a long time,” says Braxton of the pair finally collaborating. “He was one of my favorite rappers coming up.”

Beyond music, Braxton has left her imprint on two other notable ventures. In April 2023, she signed an all-encompassing production deal with the Lifetime and A+E network. Under the agreement, her Braxtoni Productions— based at Lifetime’s Los Angeles offices — will oversee and executive produce multiple projects. The pact extends Braxton’s long-running association with Lifetime. She previously starred in three TV films for the network: 2013’s Twist of Faith, 2016’s Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart (adapted from her same-titled, 2014 best-selling memoir) and 2018’s Faith Under Fire: the Antoinette Tuff Story.

Looking back at how the landscape has changed over the last decade for women filmmakers, Braxton notes, “It’s an exciting time because it's become so much more diverse than it was when I first got into the industry. Of course, there's always room for improvement. While the progress for women has been slower than that of our male counterparts, we're still pushing through. But pushing it along faster is my goal. To build more opportunities for female directors of color. Not just African American, but Native American, Latin, Asian … just a world full of women.”

In another nod to her intrepid instincts, Braxton launched body care line Nude Sugar in 2021. Available exclusively at Ulta Beauty, the line caters to people of color dealing with dryness and other issues through products such as a body scrub, a shea butter-based moisturizer and body mist.

“It was really scary to launch doing COVID, but we’re still here,” says Braxton. “And it’s even more exciting as we’re expanding the line. Having lupus, I've always found it very difficult to find products that were great for my skin. Nude Sugar is something that was developed from the ground up. It's a personal project through which I’m able to pay it forward and help other people.”

People first connected with Braxton by way of her mesmerizing voice when it was featured on the soundtrack to the 1992 Eddie Murphy box office smash Boomerang. That set the stage for Braxton’s 1993 breakthrough with her self-titled debut LaFace album — now eight times platinum. The project also garnered the singer the first three of her seven Grammy Awards, including best new artist.

Braxton began singing professionally in the ‘80s with her three sisters as The Braxtons. As a solo artist, she’s logged an estimable number of career-defining moments. Between 1996 and 2010, she released six more solo albums (Secrets, The Heat, Snowflakes, More Than a Woman, Libra and Pulse) and charted a string of hits (including “You Mean the World to Me,” “You’re Makin’ Me High” and “I Love Me Some Him”/ “I Don’t Want To”) before teaming with Babyface in 2014 for the critically acclaimed duets album that won her a seventh Grammy for Best R&B Album. The unstoppable baritone vocalist then roared back in 2018 with Sex & Cigarettes—and simultaneously kicked off her silver anniversary in music.

Beginning in 1998, Braxton effortlessly segued into a theatrical acting career as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. That barrier-breaking portrayal — the first Black woman to play a leading role in a Disney Broadway production — led to a stint in a second Disney Broadway musical, Aida, and later a special guest star engagement with the Broadway musical After Midnight. In addition to Braxton’s aforementioned Lifetime TV movies, she and her sisters became popular reality stars via WE tv’s flagship series Braxton Family Values.

Braxton hasn’t allowed lupus, a condition diagnosed several years ago, to slow her career momentum nor her role as the proud mom of sons Denim and Diezel. She devotes time as a spokesperson for Lupus L.A. and Autism Speaks, the latter on behalf of Diezel who is living with autism.

Despite helming a busy slate of projects, Braxton is ever mindful of adding to her future wish list. Among the new ideas that she’s eyeing: performing songs from her deep-rooted catalog, backed by a full orchestra. “One lesson I’ve never wavered from in my career is that it’s okay to be a student; to learn new things,” says Braxton. “You just have to get out there and do it!”