Chandra Currelley-Young (born August 30, 1961) is an American actress and singer. Currelley has done extensive work with director and writer

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

, and has played many roles in his various productions and several

stage plays A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging f ...

. In all of her stage appearances she is known for doing her signature "Holy Shake" where she shakes her shoulders while singing and the audience responds in ovation.

Life and career

Currelley-Young was a member of the SOS Band from the late 1980s up until 1992, when Chandra left the band to pursue a career in acting and theater. Because of her background in theater, Currelley-Young was selected by

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

to be the featured soloist in her production "Soul Possessed" which debuted at the Alliance Theater in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. Currelley-Young was asked to perform in the 1995 Apollo Revival of

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

as Evillene The Wicked Witch of The West and was then selectively chosen to act in David Petrarca's hit production, ''Dinah Was'', the story of singer

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

. She established her acting career by appearing in Tyler Perry's '' Madea's Big Happy Family'' and many other of his productions.

Filmography

References

External links

* * http://www.chandracurrelley.com * http://www.tylerperry.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Currelly-Young, Chandra Living people American film actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses American television actresses American stage actresses 1961 births 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers