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Cassie Profile |
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Birth Date: August 26, 1986
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Birth Place: New London, Connecticut, USA
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Birth Name: Cassandra Ventura
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Height: 5'8"
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Biography |
Cassie was born in New London, Connecticut, in
1986. The daughter of an African-American mother and a
Filipino father, Cassie attended the preparatory Williams
School, located on the Connecticut College campus in her
hometown. She began modeling when she was fourteen, and by
the time she was sixteen, Cassie was modeling for local
department stores, Delia’s fashion catalogue, and Seventeen
magazine.
At the same time, Cassie was training as a singer and
dancer. Encouragement from producer Rockwilder prompted
Cassie to take formal voice lessons. Since her school had a
performing arts program, Cassie took some modern ballet,
although she wanted to take on more urban dance styles like
jazz and hip-hop.
For a while, Cassie’s performing had to take a backseat to
her homework as long as she was in school. When she finished
high school in 2004, she didn’t want to go to college like
the rest of her peers. Instead, Cassie put her heart into
moving to New York City so she could make it in the real
world.
Cassie returned to modeling to make money while she pursued
music and took some classes at the Broadway Dance Center.
Her road to stardom started in the club scene, where
producer Ryan Leslie began spotting her at clubs and parties
in late 2004. He was charmed by Cassie’s personality. She
was finally introduced to Leslie by Sean “Diddy” Combs’
make-up artist, who had worked with Cassie on one of her
modeling photo shoots.
Not long afterward, Cassie approached Ryan Leslie to help
her record a song that she wanted to give to her mother as a
birthday gift. Leslie put together a duet for the two of
them to sing, called “Kiss Me.” He was so pleased with the
result that he played it for record executive Tommy Mottola,
who quickly offered Cassie a management deal. Leslie himself
soon signed Cassie to his NextSelection label, and wrote and
produced Cassie’s first single, “Me & U” in 2005.
“Me & U” became a huge hit on the Internet, and went on to
be a club hit in Germany, where Cassie later traveled on a
promo tour. A video for the song was rushed into production,
but withdrawn when it was deemed too risqué; the controversy
caused still more notoriety online, only heightening
interest in Cassie. “Me & U” peaked as the No. 3 download on
iTunes, and those sales pushed it to No. 6 on the Billboard
Hot 100. A less suggestive, “official” video for the song
was released in July 2006.
In the meantime, Sean Combs heard “Me & U” in a club, and
Ryan Leslie convinced him to partner his Bad Boy Records
with Leslie’s own NextSelection imprint for the release of
Cassie’s debut album, Cassie, in August 2006. Consequently,
Cassie’s whirlwind of success in the music world has led to
added modeling work. She has appeared in a Mario video,
modeled for Missy Elliot’s Adidas clothing line, has done a
swimsuit spread for Complex magazine, and has even graced
Target’s billboard in Times Square -- quite an
accomplishment for a girl who, not long before, came to New
York with nothing but a dream and a high school degree. |
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Other
Information |
She has a brother.
Signed with Diddy's record label Bad Boy Recordings.
She is an American R&B, pop, hip hop singer and former
fashion model.
Her father is Filipino and her mother is African-American.
Attended the preparatory Williams School on the Connecticut
College campus in New London, graduating in 2004.
Modelled for Missy Elliots Adidas line. |
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