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p class=”readrate”>Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calamur, Dana Farrington, Miguel Macias, Mohamad ElBardicy, and HJ Mai.
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p class=”readrate”>It was produced by Kaity Kline, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
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p class=”readrate”>We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
Singer Ray J comes from a family filled with musicians and performers, including his father and his sister, Brandy.
Ray J released his debut single “Let It Go” in 1997, but his family’s history in the music industry dates back to at least the 1970s, when his father Willie Norwood joined The Composers. His mother, Sonja, has worked as the manager for both Ray J and Brandy since they began their own music careers.
Ray J has created his own family with estranged wife Princess Love, who he married in 2016. The pair welcomed daughter Melody in 2018 and son Epik in 2020. In May 2020, the pair announced they were separating, and have since rescinded and then re-filed for divorce three more times. They are currently still married.
In November 2025, the “One Wish” singer was arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on his estranged wife during an argument on Thanksgiving Day.
Video footage from the livestream allegedly showed Ray J saying, “Y’all wanna drive drunk? Y’all wanna drive drunk? Drive drunk. Drive drunk, Princess,” before Love interjects, “Ray, you just pointed a gun–.”
“Drive drunk, princess. Go ahead,” Ray J also appeared to say. “You wanna take my kids? You and your drunk cousin? Cuz y’all drunk at the alcoholics? Take my kids then, go ahead. Who’s gonna drive? Tony, he’s been drinking too.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Ray J’s relationships with his family, including Love and their two children.
Willie Norwood
Willie NorwoodParas Griffin/Getty Images for BMI
Ray J’s father Willie is a singer, coach and teacher. As shared via Kovocals, Willie joined the singing group The Composers in the 1970s. The band made the decision to move to Hollywood after opening for Chaka Khan & Rufus, and Willie lived there with his family until he and wife Sonja decided to move back to Mississippi.
Willie took the family back to California to serve as a minister of music and become a music coach. He put together Brandy’s first tour and released his own album, Bout It, in 2001.
Willie also appeared on Brandy and Ray J’s reality series, Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. The series aired on VH1 for two seasons, from April 2010 to February 2011.
Sonja B. Norwood
Sonja NorwoodJonathan Leibson/Getty Images for WE tv
Sonja has worked as Brandy and Ray J’s manager throughout their music careers, and is also the CEO of the family’s management company, Norwood & Norwood. As shared on her website, Sonja cut her career at H&R block short to focus on her children’s musical pursuits. This allowed her to help Brandy and Ray J navigate music contracts, Brandy’s foray into music and beauty deals and running the Norwood Kids Foundation.
“Being Black, a woman, a mom, and coming into this industry in the `90s was not easy,” she says on her site. “When I’m teaching, it’s important for people to understand the practices of the entertainment industry. I appreciate all of the good and bad attitudes, the no’s and yes challenges and deceptions that came my way. They have made me the business person I am today. I have earned my way – fearless, confident, and passionate about who I am and how I can change things. I want up-and-coming mom managers and females especially to know that if they are willing to put in the work to not only master their craft but also to wholly understand who they are as a person, establish boundaries and keep God first – they can accomplish anything.”
Brandy Norwood
Brandy NorwoodDerek White/Getty Images
Brandy is Ray J’s older sister, known to audiences around the world as a singer and actress. She rose to fame after securing a role on the ABC series Thea, which aired from September 1983 to February 1984, but her breakthrough moment came with the release of her first self-titled album in September 1984.
Brandy led the cast of Moesha in 1996, and the series became a hit soon after its debut. Her acting career spawned several more roles, including in the 1997 movie Cinderella.
The release of her follow-up album Never Say Never in 1998 introduced Brandy to wider audiences after the single “The Boy is Mine” hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Brandy has continued to act and sing in the years that followed.
Sy’Rai Smith
Sy’Rai SmithBryan Bedder/Getty Images for Lifetime
Sy’Rai is the daughter of Brandy and producer Robert Smith. She made her debut as a singer on her mom’s 2020 record B7 and released her own song, “On My Own” in 2023. She is also the host of the “I Shouldn’t Have Said That” podcast.
Princess Love
Princess LoveUnique Nicole/Getty Images
Ray J and Princess Love married in August 2016, and have since welcomed two children together. The pair’s relationship has been tumultuous, and they have filed for divorce several times (in May 2020, September 2020, October 2021 and most recently in February 2024).
“After much reflection, discussion, and counseling, we have come to the difficult realization that our paths have diverged, and it is in the best interest of both of us to part ways,” Love wrote in a since-deleted post shared via Instagram in February 2024. “We want to reassure you that this decision was made thoughtfully and with mutual respect and consideration for each other’s well-being. While our relationship as spouses may be coming to an end, we remain committed to co-parenting our children and maintaining a positive and supportive family dynamic.”
Princess was a cast member on seasons 3 through 6 of Love & Hip Hop: Miami (the series aired from 2014 to 2019) and frequently documents her cooking on Instagram.
Ray J Familyesse Grant/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Ray J and Love welcomed their first child together on May 23, 2018. Soon after her birth, Ray J shared a video of himself with Melody with OK! Magazine, telling the outlet that he and Love were considering a move to London with their daughter.
“I’m here with the love of my life,” he said in the video. “I love you. I’ll always be there for you. You’ll never have to want for nothing, baby.”
He added of the potential move, “I like the people, the opportunities, and the values are a little different. I’ve been in Hollywood so long, I know what it comes with, I want my daughter to have a peaceful, happy life. I want to be consistent in being there for the baby. We’d love to move in the next year and a half.”
Epik Ray Norwood
Love and Ray J’s son Epik joined the family on December 30, 2019.
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Emilia Clarke was the mother of looks at her first red carpet outing in years.
The Game of Thrones star, 39, stunned at the Global Gift Gala on Saturday, November 1, at the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel in London. She served as the Honorary Chair of the event and was seen posing with Global Gift Foundation founder Maria Bravo, singer Christina Milian and others.
Clarke wore a black McQueen dress that featured a sheer lace bodice with frill accents, a low back and a long ruffled skirt. Her hair was styled down and parted to the side. Her natural makeup look was completed with dewy skin, pink lips and black eyeliner.
According to their website, the Global Gift Foundation aims to create a positive impact on the lives of children, women and families who are in a situation of vulnerability and/or risk of social exclusion.
Emilia was joined by her mom, Jenny Clarke, at the event as their charity SameYou was honored. SameYou advocates for better mental health treatment for people recovering from brain injuries. The organization helps survivors rebuild their lives after leaving the hospital and supports them with innovative emotional, social and physical rehabilitation programs.
Emilia herself survived two life-threatening brain hemorrhages while working on the early seasons of Game of Thrones. She initially believed something was wrong while completing a workout with her trainer in February 2011. Emilia said she “felt as though an elastic band were squeezing” on her brain in a 2019 essay for The New Yorker.
Emilia Clarke attends the Global Gift Gala London 2025.Photo by Hoda Davaine/WireImage
After being taken to the hospital, she was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Clarke then underwent a “minimally invasive” brain surgery procedure. However, she later suffered from aphasia, which caused her to temporarily forget her name and led her to fear she would never recover.
Though the aphasia only lasted a week, she learned two years later that she suffered another brain aneurysm while undergoing a brain scan. Healthcare workers operated on her twice to resolve the issue, with the second surgery going right through her skull.
“The recovery was even more painful than it had been after the first surgery,” she explained to The New Yorker. “I looked as though I had been through a war more gruesome than any that Daenerys experienced.”
Emilia has kept a low profile following the conclusion of Game of Thrones in May 2019. She last appeared publicly at F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain in July 2024 and walked the carpet at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year 2023 in November of that year.
She is set to make a return to the screen soon, however, in the upcoming Prime Video series Criminal and Peacock’s spy thriller Ponies. She also voiced a character in the animated comedy The Twits, which was released on Netflix earlier this month.
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