NOUGHTIES icon Naturi Naughton-Lewis looks absolutely incredible over 20 years since she first found fame in girlband, 3LW. The 40-year-old singer could easily be confused for still being in her 20s, and last week she appeared on New York chat show Hoda and Jenna to talk about her latest work. While she was initially a pop star, Naturi is now a fully-fledged actress, appearing in 50 Cent ’s massively successful Power franchise as Tasha St Patrick.
She also played Lil Kim in the celebrated film Notorious, based on the life of Notorious B.I.G , Christopher ‘Biggie Smalls’ Wallace.
Now, she’s starring in the Lifetime movie, Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie. But her career started back in 1999 where, at the age of 15, she joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams in 3LW. Launching their first single No More (Baby I’ma Do Right) in 2000, the group were shot into the RnB stratosphere, becoming iconic with their self-titled debut album going platinum and selling over 1.
3million records. However, her time in the band ground to a screeching halt due to ongoing feuds within the band, shortly before the release of their LP, A Girl Can Mack, in August 2002. Naturi said the rest of the girls, as well as the management, forced her out of the group.
Years later, it emerged that Kiely threw a plate of KFC at her during an argument. Speaking about the moment in 2021, Kiely explained how her career had turned into “a fried chicken meme” but said: "I didn't throw ch.