Danielle Brisebois

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2009) (Find sources: Danielle Brisebois – news, books, scholar)

Danielle Anne Brisebois (born June 28, 1969) is an American actress, producer, songwriter and singer. In the 1990s she recorded two solo albums, Arrive All Over You and Portable Life, and was a member of the New Radicals. She is most recognized for her role as Stephanie Mills on the sitcoms All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, as well as playing Molly in the original Broadway cast of Annie.

Biography

Acting career

Danielle Brisebois was born in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career early, appearing in her first movie, The Premonition (1976), at the age of seven. In 1977, she appeared in an episode of Kojak and began starring in the original Broadway cast of Annie as the youngest of the orphans, Molly. (Jay-Z later sampled a clip of Brisebois from Annie for his song "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)").

In the late 1970s, she joined the cast of All in the Family later also starring in its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place in the early 1980s. She was nominated for six Young Artist Awards from 1980 to 1984, winning two; in 1981 as Best Young Actress in a TV Special for Mom, the Wolfman and Me and in 1982 as Best Young Actress in a Television Series for Archie Bunker's Place. In 1982 she was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, again for Archie Bunker's Place. Brisebois also appeared in several episodes of Battle of the Network Stars and Circus of the Stars in the early 1980s and played the daughter of William Devane's character on Knots Landing in the series' fifth season.

In the late 1980s, she had several single-episode appearances in various TV series, including Hotel, Mr. Belvedere, Murder, She Wrote, Tales from the Darkside, Days of our Lives.

She ranked in the Top 50 (#50) of VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.

Music career

Danielle Brisebois' 1994 debut album, Arrive All Over You.

Brisebois began her career as a recording artist in the early 1990s by providing backing vocals on Intoxifornication, the 1992 album by rock singer Gregg Alexander; this marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration with Alexander, who co-wrote, produced and sang on her first solo album Arrive All Over You in 1994. Despite a disappointing commercial performance in U.S, the album became a minor hit in Europe, Arrive All Over You performed well critically and continues to maintain a cult following. Mackenzie Wilson of Allmusic described the album as "an earnest and impressive effort.. [that] went largely unnoticed during the reign of gangsta rap and grunge" and compared it favourably to Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill.^[1] Brisebois' cover of "Gimme Little Sign" was also a minor hit in Europe.

In 1998, Brisebois became a member of Alexander's New Radicals group, who scored their greatest successes with the hit single "You Get What You Give" and the million-selling album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. She provided distinctive female vocals to the group's sound on tracks such as "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" and "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You".

Alexander quickly disbanded the group in 1999, but went on to produce and co-write Brisebois' second solo album, Portable Life, which was originally scheduled to be released on October 26, 1999. Promotional copies of the album and the single "I've Had It" were distributed, reviews appeared in the press and an "I've Had It" video was even shot, but for unknown reasons RCA Records cancelled the release at the last minute. The album was delayed until September 30, 2008, when it was released as a digital download via iTunes and Amazon.com. A compilation album of Arrive All Over You-era tracks, entitled Just Missed the Train, was also released through Sony BMG on September 26, 2006.

Brisebois has written and produced numerous songs for various other artists, including Carly Smithson, Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paula Abdul and Kylie Minogue. She co-wrote Natasha Bedingfield's Top 10 hits "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine", and Donna Summer's comeback hit "Stamp Your Feet".

In November 2008, Brisebois reunited with Alexander, former New Radicals guitarist (and current Paul McCartney guitarist) Rusty Anderson and producer Rick Nowels as The Not So Silent Majority. She sings lead vocals on their song "Obama Rock", supporting the election of Barack Obama.

She is currently co-writing songs for pop/soul artist Kate Earl's sophomore album.

In 2009, Danielle won multiple BMI Awards both in the US and UK. "Pocketful of Sunshine" won two of the top awards; the Robert S Musel award for Song of the Year as well as the College Song of the Year, also winning a third award for Film and Television for "Unwritten". Brisebois also has two songs on Leona Lewis' new album "Echo" including "Alive" and "Let It Rain".

Filmography

Discography

Albums

• Arrive All Over You (1994)
• Just Missed the Train (2006)
• Portable Life (2008)

Singles

• "What If God Fell From The Sky" (1994)
• "Gimme Little Sign" (1995)
• "I Don't Wanna Talk About Love" (1995)
• "I've Had It" (1999, promotional single only)

Awards and nominations

Awards won

• 1981 Young Artist Award - Best Young Actress in a TV Special; for Mom, the Wolfman and Me
• 1982 Young Artist Award - Best Young Actress in a Television Series; for Archie Bunker's Place
• 2009 BMI - The Robert S. Musel Award; for Pocketful of Sunshine
• 2009 BMI - College Song; for Pocketful of Sunshine
• 2009 BMI - Pop Award; for Pocketful of Sunshine
• 2009 BMI - Cable Award; The Hills

Nominations

• 1980 Young Artist Award - Best Juvenile Actress in a TV Series or Special; for All in the Family
• 1981 Young Artist Award - Best Young Actress in a Television Series; for Archie Bunker's Place
• 1982 Golden Globe Award - Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV; for Archie Bunker's Place
• 1983 Young Artist Award - Best Young Actress in a Television Series; for Archie Bunker's Place
• 1984 Young Artist Award - Best Young Actress in a Television Series; for Archie Bunker's Place

References

External links

• Danielle Brisebois' official website
• Danielle Brisebois at the Internet Movie Database
• Danielle Brisebois at the Internet Broadway Database
• Danielle Brisebois at TV.com
• "Don't Wanna Talk About Love", "What If God Fell From The Sky" and "Gimme Little Sign" music videos (via AOL Music)