In the 1990s and early 2000s, Brandy Norwood was one of Hollywood’s hottest stars. In addition to ruling the pop charts with hits like “The Boy Is Mine” and “Have You Ever,” she found success as an actress on the hit sitcom Moesha and starring alongside Whitney Houston in the 1997 TV adaptation of Cinderella. The Mississippi-born beauty also gave her fans an inside look at what it was like to become a mom on her reality show, Brandy: Special Delivery. So where is Brandy Norwood’s daughter today? Here’s everything you need to know about the superstar’s only child, Sy’rai Iman Smith.
Brandy Welcomed Smith Into The World With Her Own MTV Show
Brandy was 25 years old when she gave birth to her daughter, Sy’rai Iman Smith, on June 16th, 2002. The pop star let cameras document her journey to motherhood for the MTV reality show, Brandy: Special Delivery, and 3.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the Grammy winner give birth during the final episode.
At the time, Brandy said she was married to Sy’rai’s father, music producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith. However, the “I Wanna Be Down” singer later admitted that they actually never tied the knot.
“At that time, being pregnant out of wedlock was not a trend,” the pop singer said in a 2014 interview with Oprah Winfrey. “I felt the pressure of having to be perfect. And I was scared. I thought that everything that I have worked hard for and everything that I worked to build—the image that I worked so hard to build—was threatened.”
A year after their daughter’s birth, Brandy and Robert Smith separated.
Smith Wants To Be A Singer Just Like Her Mom
Given Brandy’s talent, it comes as no surprise that Sy’rai Smith is following in her mom’s footsteps. Now 20 years old, she released her first single, “At Your Best,” in April of 2020. The song, which was produced by Brandy’s nephew, Aaron Smith, features a sample from the late singer Aaliyah’s 1994 hit, “At Your Best (You Are Love).”
Smith also teamed up with her mom to record the duet, “Nothing Without You,” which was made for the 2022 Disney+ movie, Cheaper by the Dozen.
In an Instagram post, the young singer celebrated the song’s release, writing: “Thank you @disneyplus for this amazing opportunity! Me and @brandy (mama)?’s song ‘Nothing Without You’ is beautiful and i can’t wait for everyone to hear.”
She’s Also A Successful Influencer
While Smith may have been born into stardom, she has forged her own career path as a popular influencer. She has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, where she typically posts fashion pics, photos of herself in the recording studio, and snaps of her boyfriend and her mom. Her TikTok, which has over 400,000 followers, is filled with funny videos featuring her family, her friends, and occasionally, her cat. And on YouTube, where she has more than 18,000 subscribers, Smith shares about her career, her relationship with her boyfriend, fashion tips, and more.
She Has Gone Through An Inspiring Weight Loss Journey
Smith has also used her social media platform to open up about her struggles with weight. After shedding some serious pounds, she posted a sassy TikTok video featuring before-and-after images documenting her weight loss.
She also opened up about her body image issues—and what it’s like to the be child of a naturally skinny superstar—on a November 2021 appearance on The Real.
“Seeing my mom dress a certain way or wear certain things, when she was on carpets or on set, it was kind of difficult because it was like, ‘Why am I not that way? Why am I not that size? Why was I made the way I was made?'” Smith explained. “Sometimes I would feel a little sad or I would feel like she was embarrassed of me.”
But Smith made it clear that it was societal pressures and her own insecurities that made her feel self-conscious—Brandy was never critical of her weight or her appearance. “[My mom] always was supportive. She always knew that I was beautiful,” Smith said. “She never felt any of those things that I felt that she felt. I just always kind of felt like the odd one out. My whole family is in the spotlight.”
Ultimately, Smith says she made the effort to lose weight because her size was starting to negatively affect her health. She started to adopt a healthier lifestyle and a more positive mindset and in time, the pounds started coming off. While the influencer admits that she sometimes still feels pressure to look a certain way, she tries her best to focus on being kind to her body.
“I know my body has been through a lot. I always have to remind myself of that,” she said on The Real. “The scars that I have, the stretch marks that I have, everything that my body has been through is for a purpose [and] it’s for a reason. But I do feel a little pressure. You know people have eyes on me all the time, people have eyes on my mom all the time.”