Marques Barrett Houston (born August 4, 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Houston began his singing career in 1990, performing with

IMx Immature (later known as IMx) is an American R&B boy band, managed by record producer Chris Stokes. Its members include Marques "Batman" Houston (born August 4, 1981), Jerome "Romeo" Jones (born October 25, 1981), and Kelton "LDB" Kessee ( ...

, and found popularity as an actor for his portrayal of Roger Evans in the teen sitcom ''Sister, Sister'' from 1994 to 1998.

Early life

Houston was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to Michael and Carolyn Houston. Houston's mother died from

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

in 1997.

Music career

Music beginnings

In 1992, Houston became a founding member of the R&B group Immature (also known as

). The members of the group include Jerome "Romeo" Jones and Don "Half Pint" Santos (later replaced by Kelton "LDB" Kessee), along with Chris Stokes, who is their manager. During this period, Houston went by the nickname "Batman". In 1999, the group underwent a name change, releasing two albums under the name IMx: ''

Introducing IMx ''Introducing IMx'' is the fifth album by IMx, formerly known as Immature, released on October 26, 1999, on MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings un ...

'' (1999) and ''

'' (2001). The group also branched out into acting and appeared on shows such as ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'' and '' Sister, Sister''. They recorded songs for soundtracks to the films '' House Party 3'' and '' House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute'', before disbanding in 2002.

2003–2005: ''MH'' and ''Naked''

In 2003, Houston began pursuing a solo career. Using his birth name, Marques Houston, he released his debut album, '' MH'', on October 21, 2003. The album featured the singles " That Girl", " Clubbin'" (featuring

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American broadcaster and former rapper. He first gained recognition with his 2003 single " Pump It Up", which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and preceded the release of h ...

and R. Kelly), " Pop That Booty" (featuring

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

) and " Because of You". In the United States

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

, ''MH'' peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and at number 5 on ''Billboard''s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. On May 24, 2005, Houston released his second solo album, ''

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

''. The album featured the singles " All Because of You" (featuring Young Rome), "

" and "Sex Wit You". In the United States, ''Naked'' peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' and peaked at number 5 on ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

2006–2008: ''Veteran''

Houston released his third solo album, ''

Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

'', on March 20, 2007. The album featured the singles " Like This" (featuring

Yung Joc Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper known for his 2006 single " It's Goin' Down", which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Prior to its release, he sign ...

), " Favorite Girl", "

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

" and " Wonderful". In the United States, ''Veteran'' debuted (and peaked) at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and debuted at number 1 on ''Billboard''s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, marking this release as Houston's first number-one solo album.

2009–2011: ''Mr. Houston'', ''Mattress Music'' and IMx reunion

Houston released his fourth solo album, '' Mr. Houston'' on September 29, 2009. It featured the singles, "I Love Her" and "Sunset". Videos for the album tracks "Body" and "Date" were released online by the singer in 2008. "How I Do" and "Case of You" received video premieres in 2009, followed by a video for "Tonight" in 2010. On September 14, 2010, Houston released his fifth studio album, '' Mattress Music'', which contained the singles "Kickin' & Screamin'" and "Pullin' On Her Hair". A video for a third single, "Ghetto Angel" premiered in 2011. Houston announced on '' 106 & Park'' that

planned to record another group album together that year. This plan was eventually scrapped.

2012–2013: ''Famous''

In October 2012, Houston announced a new studio album, '' Famous'', was slated for release on August 27. Marques released the song "Speechless" as a promotional preview via free digital download. The first single off the album, made available on iTunes, was "Give Your Love a Try" featuring

Problem Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

2014–present: ''White Party'', soundtracks and ''Me''

Following the release of his previous album, Houston reunited with

and did some touring. Changing their name back to Immature, the band released a new single called "Let Me Find Out" in late 2014. Their comeback EP titled ''Remember'' was released in early 2015. Later that year, Houston released the solo single "Need You" from the soundtrack of his film ''Will to Love''. In 2016, Houston released a new single "Complete Me" to digital/streaming outlets. He premiered a music video for the song in September. The track was slated to be the first single off his album ''White Party'', set for release later that year. However, this album never materialized. In 2017, Houston recorded a trio of new songs for the film '' 'Til Death Do Us Part'', for which he wrote the screenplay. His song "Together" was released as a single from the soundtrack. After nine years, Houston released a new album titled ''Me'' on February 4, 2022. His follow up EP, ''Me: Dark Water'', was released on November 4, 2022.

Acting career

Houston made his acting debut in the animated comedy film ''

Bebe's Kids ''Bebe's Kids'' ( ; also marketed as ''Robin Harris' Bebe's Kids'') is a 1992 American Adult animation, adult animated comedy film produced by Hyperion Pictures, Hyperion Studio for Paramount Pictures. Directed by Bruce W. Smith in his List of ...

'' (1992) in which he was the voice of Khalil, the leader and oldest child of the titular "Bebe's Kids". Houston later appeared in '' House Party 3'' (1994), where he played a fictional version of himself along with fellow Immature bandmates Jerome "Romeo" Jones and Don "Half Pint" Santos. In the film, they portrayed Kid's trouble-making younger cousins who aspire to become musicians. Houston's breakthrough role came when he won the part of Roger Evans in the television comedy show '' Sister, Sister'', playing the next-door neighbor of identical twin sisters Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell ( Tia and Tamera Mowry). Marques played the role for five of the show's six seasons. The show wrote his character out of the script during the fifth season, but he made a guest appearance in the series finale. In 1997, he had a brief cameo in the movie "

Good Burger ''Good Burger'' is a 1997 American teen comedy film directed by Brian Robbins, written by Dan Schneider with Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, and starring Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, and Abe Vigoda. The film is a spin-off of the "Good B ...

", a spin-off from a sketch on the Nickelodeon show " All That" starring

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

and Kel Mitchell. He played Jake, Kenan's friend. Houston and his IMx (formerly Immature) band members made an appearance in

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

's music video for the single "No, No, No Part 1" off their 1998 self-titled debut album. In 2000, shortly after Houston's run on ''Sister, Sister'' ended, Marques had a brief cameo in Destiny's Child's video rendition of ''The Writing's on the Wall'' single "

Jumpin', Jumpin' "Jumpin', Jumpin' is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for its second studio album, ''The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). The song was co-written and co-produced by Chad Elliott and group member Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, with a ...

" directed by Joseph Kahn. He also played the character Elgin Barrett Eugene Smith III in the 2004 film '' You Got Served''. Following ''You Got Served'', in both live-action and voice-over, he portrayed Dumb Donald in the film adaptation of '' Fat Albert'', based on

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

's popular cartoon series '' Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids''. From 2005 to 2006, Houston starred as Kevin Barnes in his own television series, '' Cuts'', which was a spin-off of '' One on One''. Despite substantial ratings, the show only lasted two seasons due to UPN merging with The WB to become

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

which caused ''Cuts'' along with many other UPN shows to get cancelled. In 2007, Houston starred in the horror film '' Somebody Help Me''. He then starred in the sequel, '' Somebody Help Me 2'', in 2010. In 2012, Houston starred in a kids hip hop dance battle film, '' Battlefield America''. He portrayed Sean Lewis, an ad executive who serves as a dance teacher after receiving a sentence of community service; however, he does not dance in the film. In 2015, Houston reunited with ''Sister, Sister'' co-star Tamera Mowry on the daytime talk show ''

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to reality in its unmediated form. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is an "impossible" category because of its inconceivability and opposition to expression. In depth psychology The Real is the ...

'' (also with Tia Mowry in 2017) for two episodes. He also starred in 2016's ''A Weekend With The Family'', alongside Karrueche Tran. He later reunited with his IMx bandmates for a brief storyline appearance on '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' in 2019.

Film producing career

Houston began his journey into the behind the scenes world of filmmaking in 2010, partnering with longtime music manager Chris Stokes, who directed most of the films he wrote and produced. Houston is currently the CEO of a film production company, Footage Films, in California, along with fellow

bandmate Young Rome (Jerome Jones) as president and relative Jarell Houston, (J-Boog of B2K) as vice president. Chris Stokes is the chairman of the board and directs the majority of the productions. Marques serves as an executive producer and writer. The majority of the films are mostly made-for-TV features. Following in the paths of filmmakers

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

and

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's casting tradition, Houston and Stokes often cast some of their actors more than once in different films portraying different roles. His first full writing and executive producer credit was the 2015 film ''Will to Love'', starring Keisha Knight Pulliam, Draya Michele, and himself, respectively. He produced a thriller, ''Running Out of Time'', starring

Tasha Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress and director. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series '' Boston Common'' (1996–97), and later appeared in numerous movies and television series. Smith has ...

, RonReaco Lee and Telma Hopkins, that aired in December 2018 on BET. Since the start of this new career, he has written and produced over ten films so far, including one he co-wrote with Stokes that was released to theaters in 2017, titled '' 'Til Death Do Us Part'' starring Taye Diggs, Stephen Bishop,

Annie Ilonzeh Annette Ngozi Ilonzeh (born August 23, 1983) is an American actress. From 2010 to 2011, she played Maya Ward on the ABC daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'', and later starred as Kate Prince in the short-lived ABC reboot of '' Charlie's Ange ...

and Malik Yoba. Houston produced, wrote and starred in a thriller film alongside ''Love and Hip Hop'' star Erica Mena titled ''"The Stepmother"'' which premiered on

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

in June 2022. A sequel was announced in November 2022.

Personal life

Religious beliefs

He became one of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

in 2016.

Relationships

Houston married Miya Dickey (b. October 7, 2000), a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

from

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

on August 24, 2020 in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crown") is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States, directly bordering Orange County, California, Orange and San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino counties. Its curre ...

. The two met at a convention for

in April 2018 and shared a mutual friend in director Chris Stokes. They started dating in October, after Dickey's 18th birthday and he proposed to Dickey in March 2019. They have two children together, a daughter named Zara Denise Houston (b. December 2021) and a son named Greyson Houston (b. December 2023). Houston and Dickey's marriage caused some controversy due to their 19-year age gap, with some demanding he be canceled for predatory behavior. Houston defended their marriage and said that though they met when she was 17 years old, they didn't begin a romantic relationship until she was 18 years old. Houston previously dated singer Jamila "Mila J" Chilombo and his ''You Got Served'' co-star Jennifer Freeman.

Discography

Studio albums * '' MH'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * '' Mr. Houston'' (2009) * '' Mattress Music'' (2010) * '' Famous'' (2013) * ''Me'' (2022) * ''The Best Worst Year Ever'' (2024)

Filmography

Television

Film

As producer

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Marques 1981 births Living people 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male singers African-American male child actors American contemporary R&B singers American hip-hop singers American Jehovah's Witnesses American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses IMx members Singers from Los Angeles Universal Motown Records artists