Born and Raised:

Full name: Ciara Princess Harris.
Born: Oct. 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas. Raised primarily in the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Early Life:

Ciara, who was named after a brand of perfume, is the only child of Jackie and Carlton Harris. Her father was in the U.S. Army when she was growing up, so the family moved frequently during her childhood. Among the locations where she spent the early years of her life were Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada.

But when she was in her teens, the family settled in the Atlanta area. When put in a stable home environment, Ciara began to develop her talent for singing. While still in her mid-teens, she and some friends formed a singing trio called Hearsay. Although the group recorded some demos together, they never signed a recording deal and eventually parted ways. But Ciara eventually landed a publishing deal as a songwriter. Eventually she met Atlanta-based music producer Jazze Pha, who would play a pivotal role in her career.

Career Breakthrough:

In 2002, when Ciara was still just 16, she recorded four Jazzy Pha-produced demo songs, which were then shopped around. The following year, after graduating for high school, she signed a recording deal with LaFace Records and began work on her debut album. In June 2004, the album's first single, was released, "Goodies." The song, which was co-written by Ciara and produced by the rapper Lil Jon, became a major hit, spending seven weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart.

Her debut album, which was also entitled Goodies, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard albums chart and to date has sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone. In addition to the title track, the pop-R&B album spawned two other major hits, the dance song "1, 2, Step," featuring Missy Elliott and "Oh," with the rapper Ludacris.

Career Turbulence:

Her second album, Ciara: the Evolution, was released in December 2006 and went on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide. Among the albums hits were the ballad "Promise," the relationship song "Like a Boy" and "Can't Leave 'Em Alone," with 50 Cent. As her music career began to cool off in the United States around the release of her third album in 2009, she began to branch out into acting and modeling. In February 2011, she released a statement complaining of inadequate promotion and funding from Jive Records and requested that she be released from her contract. Her request was granted, and later that year, she signed with Epic Records. Her Epic debut, One Woman Army, was released in late 2012.

Rumors:

Circa 2005-2006, Ciara dated the rapper Bow Wow, whom she knew while they were growing up in Atlanta. Although neither party has address the reason for the break-up, it was widely speculated that he cheated on her.
Through much of her early career, there were rumors that Ciara was actually a man who had a sex change, with some citing her lean, athletically muscular dancer's body as an example. In 2008, she denied the rumors in interviews.
In 2010, Ciara was rumored to be feuding with fellow R&B-pop singer Keri Hilson via veiled insults hidden in lyrics of their songs. The two eventually recorded a video message together addressing the issue and effectively killing the rumors.
In 2011-12, Ciara was rumored to have dated multiple athletes, including NBA players Amar'e Stoudemire and Dwight Howard, as well as NFL quarterback Cam Newton. All the rumors proved to be false.

Notable Quote:

"Sometimes I want to speak on the lies people make up, but over the years I've learned the truth always reveals it self on its own." -- Ciara, August 2012, via a note posted on Instagram.

Discography:

2012: One Woman Army
2010: Basic Instinct
2009: Fantasy Ride
2006: Ciara: the Evolution
2004: Goodies