A Field Guide To Naturi Naughton

If you've been watching Starz's hit drama "Power," you know that the only thing better than its sharp acting and compelling storylines is its frequent nudity; with nudeppearances from such lovely ladies as Lucy Walters, Lela Loren, Leslie Lopez, and Naturi Naughton. We have a hard time picking a favorite lass from "Power"'s awesome line up; and truth be told, we'd like to know quite a bit more about each and every one of them. But since we can only do one at a time, let's begin with the lady who helped kick "Power" into high gear from day one: Naturi Naughton, who had us on board with "Power" from the moment she first showed her boobs. 

Naturi Naughton was born May 20, 1984, in East Orange, New Jersey. She showed talent as a performer from a very early age. By age five, Naughton was singing in the church choir at East Orange's New Hope Baptist Church; it wasn't long after that she was drawing broader attention for her vocal talents. 

Naughton's big break came at the tender age of fifteen, when she joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams to form R&B girl group 3LW. 3LW got very famous very fast, with two smash singles and a platinum record within a few years of forming. Unfortunately, their bright flame burned out quick: their second album was abandoned after tracks were leaked to the internet (this was back in 2002, when that was still a new phenomenon), during the process of recording a new set of tracks, disagreements among the group's members culminated in a food fight at KFC (seriously); not long after, Naughton announced that she'd left the group.

But while she may have been out (of a R&B group), Naughton didn't allow that to keep her down; in fact, we'd say her departure from the group led to some of her greatest work. Post-3LW, Naughton began spreading her wings into the world of acting, starting with a role as Little Inez in the Broadway version of "Hairspray" (which, some of you may remember, collected quite a few Tonys and was a smashing success). Spending three years doing musical theater turned out to be a great way to break into the acting industry. As Naughton told Indiewire, "[it] helped me transition into acting because it's musical theater, where I'm singing and dancing and acting and learning how to think on my feet. When I booked 'Hairspray' I really didn't have a support system other than my family and friends. So after 3LW, doing 'Hairspray' really launched me into a position in New York where I was getting recognized and then got an agent."

And that recognition led to roles. While playing Little Inez, Naughton booked another "little" role, getting cast as Li'l Kim in the Notorious B.I.G. biopic "Notorious." Though the film got mixed reviews (Li'l Kim in particular was not a fan), we personally found it quite delightful – though to be honest that had as much to do with Naughton's nudity as it did with the plot of any of the acting.

Regardless of "Notorious"'s artistic merit, it was a big enough hit at the box office to give Naughton some serious pull. From "Notorious" she went on to land numerous roles, from leads in works like "Fame," "The Playboy Club," and "The Client List" to supporting roles in "Mad Men" and, of course, "Power," where she's featured as Tasha St. Patrick, the wife of James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the show's club owner/drug kingpin protagonist.

Though "Power" may not have the same level of buzz as "Notorious," it's been a chance for Naughton to showcase a different side of herself (in this case, playing a mother, which is a new role for her). It's also been a chance to work with 50 Cent, who happens to be a co-star and an executive producer. Not surprisingly, working with the man who brought us "Candy Shop" has been a bit of a trip. As Naughton told The Source:

He’s got a big, great smile and he comes into every table read like, ‘Yeah yeah yeah.’ He has this energy that lights up a room because he’s happy to be here and that’s a great feeling. As our executive producer, he’s not just a standoff figurehead in a faraway land in L.A. somewhere, he comes, kicks it, we’ve had DJ Envy on set. We have a fun time but 50 is very much a part of the family which makes us all feel safe and comfortable.

(We just hope he brings everyone free Vitamin Water.)

"Power" has been renewed for a second season, so it's safe to say we'll be seeing quite a bit more of Naughton in the future (hopefully a lot more, if you know what we mean). On our end, we're incredibly grateful for that.