On CMT: Characters

	Maureen McCormick Maureen McCormick's acting career started at age 7 when she won the lead role in Ray Stark's play Wind It Up and It Breaks, which was performed at the La Jolla Playhouse. Within a year, McCormick was a popular choice for TV commercials and sitcoms. In addition to ads for Barbie and Kool Aid, she won a continuing role on the sitcom Bewitched and worked for famed director Elia Kazan in her feature film debut, The Arrangement. As fate would have it, she answered a call for auditions, along with hundreds of other child actors, to read for a role in the upcoming Brady Bunch TV series. Producer Sherwood Schwartz was impressed by the young actress and offered her the role of Marcia Brady. McCormick quickly became one of America's top teen role-models, admired by millions. When the Brady Kids became a singing group on the side, producers noticed her special talent for singing and encouraged her to record a number of solo tracks with some turning up later on the LP, Chris Knight and McCormick. After touring and recording several albums with the original Brady Bunch cast, McCormick started her solo singing career at the age of 16. Her first solo release was the single "Little Bird," which she performed for Dick Clark on American Bandstand, who encouraged the young star to pursue a full time musical career. Years later, McCormick would revive her interest in singing and recorded a popular country pop record, When You Get a Little Lonely, with many leading Nashville musicians. McCormick also starred as country sensation Barbara Mandrell in the hit TV-movie Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story. McCormick has appeared in many feature films such as Skatetown USA, Return to Horror High and Texas Lightning, for which she wrote the song, "Typical Day." She has also appeared in many TV guest spots. She was cast as a regular on Teen Angel, and she has made appearances on Herman's Head, Moesha and The Single Guy. McCormick continues to pursue all aspects of her career, including television, movies, theatre, commercials and also voice work in cartoon shows. She recently appeared as a contestant on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. In January 2008, Maureen McCormick ventured into the country arena as a cast member of the first season of Gone Country, the series that takes established performers from entertainment and music industries and immerses them in all things country for a chance at country music stardom, which became CMT's highest rated series ever.
	Bobby Brown One of the brightest R&B stars of the late '80s and early '90s, Bobby Brown was born in Boston and began singing with Roxbury schoolmates Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell in 1978. The group developed into New Edition and, after a few talent show wins, was discovered by producer Maurice Starr. Starr signed the group to his label and co-authored its debut hit, "Candy Girl," which helped get New Edition a deal with MCA. After a few years of teen stardom, Brown longed to move on to an adult solo career and left New Edition in 1986. He released his debut solo album, King of Stage, in 1987, which produced the major hit "Girlfriend." His follow-up solo album, Don't Be Cruel, however, topped the charts and made Brown a megastar. The album went on to sell over 7 million copies and spawned five Top 10 hits, including the title song "Don't Be Cruel," "Roni," "Rock Wit'cha," the No. 1 chart topping "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step," which earned him a Grammy in 1989 for best rhythm and blues vocal performance, male. In 1990, he was tapped to provide the theme song for Ghostbusters II and responded with the No. 2 smash "On Our Own," another rap/R&B mixture. He also contributed a rap to friend Glenn Medeiros' No. 1 pop hit, "She Ain't Worth It." Brown was so popular at this point that even his 1990 remix album, Dance! ...Ya Know It!, went platinum. In July of 1992, Brown married fellow superstar Whitney Houston and in August, released his third solo album, Bobby. Bobby went double platinum, and the hit "Humpin' Around" was a smash, reaching Top 5 on the pop charts and earning him a Grammy nomination for best male R&B vocal performance. In 1995, Brown reunited with New Edition for the No. 1 album Home Again and a comeback tour. At the end of that tour, Brown again departed to focus on his solo career, and he released the album Forever in 1997. More recently, Brown released a greatest hits album in 2000 and contributed to Ja Rule's single "Thug Lovin'" in 2002. This collaboration won Brown a Source Award for R&B/Rap collaboration of the year in 2003. While always maintaining his focus on music, Brown has also been venturing into the movie side of showbiz. In 1996, he co-starred in the hit movie, The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, and in more recent years, he has appeared in the films Two Can Play That Game, Go for Broke, Gang of Roses and Nora's Hair Salon, and on the small screen in Being Bobby Brown. In January 2008, Brown ventured into the country arena as a cast member of the first season of Gone Country, the series that takes established performers from entertainment and music industries and immerses them in all things country for a chance at country music stardom, which became CMT's highest rated series ever.
	Carnie Wilson Some people know Carnie Wilson as a pop singer, a progeny of one of the most famous artists of all time (Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind Brian Wilson) with her own hit-laden and Grammy Award-nominated track record with the group, Wilson Phillips. Others know her as a TV personality with a resum� that includes co-hosting The View, hosting her own talk show, Carnie!, as well as Bottom Line's Secret Food Cures and acting on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She also does radio and TV voiceovers, is a published author of autobiographies and a cookbook, a Playboy model and a motivational speaker. Showing off the combined genes of the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas, Wilson Phillips debuted at No. 1 in 1990 with their first single, "Hold On," the Billboard Music Award winner for Hot 100 single of the year. They also sold more than 11 million copies of their three albums and produced six Top 20 singles. Wilson's voice has also graced albums by her father as well as by James Ingram, Belinda Carlisle, Billy Idol and the late Robert Palmer. In 2006, shortly after the birth of her daughter Lola Sofia, she recorded A Mother's Gift: Lullabies From the Heart, which featured a combination of originals and covers. Wilson's latest album, Christmas With Carnie is in stores now. Her TV career has also included a correspondent gig on Entertainment Tonight, stints on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and That 70s Show. Her published works include two memoirs -- 2001's Gut Feeling and 2003's I'm Still Hungry-- as well as the cookbook, To Serve With Love in 2005. In January 2008, Carnie Wilson ventured into the country arena as a cast member of the first season of Gone Country, the series that takes established performers from entertainment and music industries and immerses them in all things country for a chance at country music stardom, which became CMT's highest rated series ever.