Nona Gaye

Nona Marvisa Gaye, also referred to in some sources as Nona Aisha Gaye (born 4 September 1974; Washington, D.C.) is an American singer, songwriter, former fashion model and retired actress.

Early Life

Gaye is the daughter of soul singer Marvin Gaye and his second wife, Janis Hunter Gaye, and the maternal granddaughter of jazz musician Slim Gaillard; her paternal grandparents were Marvin Gay Sr. and Alberta Gay, and her uncle was singer-songwriter Frankie Gaye.

She was raised in Redondo Beach, California, and was introduced to performing before she could even remember it, appearing onstage with her father when she was just three weeks old. At the age of six, her father announced on the television programme Soul Train that "she sings quite well," and by eight, she formally introduced him during a tribute episode of the same show.

She was nine years old when her father died in 1984. Gaye cut her first demo at fourteen and was signed to Atlantic Records's Third Stone imprint shortly afterwards.

Career

Gaye released her debut album, Love for the Future, on Atlantic Records in 1992, a month after her eighteenth birthday, which produced the top 20 hit "I'm Overjoyed" alongside "The Things That We All Do for Love."

In 1995, she sang the title track on Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, a tribute album to her father. Around this period, Gaye both dated and collaborated musically with Prince for approximately three years, recording several songs with him, including the duet "Love Sign," released on Prince's 1994 compilation album 1-800-NEW-FUNK, and "A Woman's Gotta Have It." She also provided backing vocals on "We March," from Prince's 1995 album The Gold Experience, and on the title track to the Girl 6 soundtrack in 1996, and starred in the Prince-produced European television special The Beautiful Experience.

Gaye subsequently expanded into modelling, being named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1993 and signing with the Ford Modeling Agency in 1994, going on to front an Armani campaign and walk the runway for Gianni Versace.

In 2001, Gaye returned to music, joining Bono and Artists Against AIDS Worldwide on a re-recording of her father's classic "What's Going On" as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

That same year, she made her feature film debut opposite Will Smith as Khalilah Camacho Ali in Michael Mann's Ali, a performance that drew widespread critical acclaim, with USA Today suggesting the role merited a supporting actress Oscar nomination. She went on to play Zee in the 2003 sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, a role she took on after the death of singer Aaliyah, who had originally been cast. In 2004, Gaye provided the voice of Hero Girl in the animated film The Polar Express, alongside Tom Hanks.

Personal Life

Gaye is the mother of a son, Nolan Pentz Martinez, born in June 1997 to her and Justin Martinez; his middle name honours his grandfather, Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. As the daughter of one of soul music's most influential and revered artists, Gaye has often spoken about carrying forward her father's legacy through her own creative work, in both music and film.

Current Activities

Gaye has largely stepped back from acting and public performance in recent years.

Film

Awards/nominations

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2006, Best Actress: The Gospel (Nominated)
  • 2002, Best Supporting Actress: Ali (Winner)
• Image Awards
• 2004, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: The Matrix Revolutions (Nominated)

Discography

Albums

• Love for the Future (Third Stone/Atlantic, 1992)
• Language of Love (AmieStreet.com, 2008)

Singles

• "I'm Overjoyed" (Third Stone/Atlantic, 1992)
• "The Things That We All Do for Love" (Third Stone/Atlantic, 1993)
• "Love Sign" (duet with Prince) (NPG, 1994)
• "A Woman has to have it" (1-800-NEW-FUNK) (NPG, 1994)