Antonia "Toya" Johnson-Rushing ( Johnson, formerly Carter and Wright; born October 26, 1983) is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

personality.

Early life

Johnson was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. She is the second child of Anita Johnson and Walter Andrews.

Career

In 2009, Johnson and Tameka "Tiny" Harris from the R&B group Xscape (also wife of rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

) starred on a reality show on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

called ''

Tiny and Toya ''Tiny and Toya'' is an American reality television series starring Xscape singer-songwriter and the wife of rapper T.I., Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Antonia "Toya" Johnson-Rushing, popularly known as the childhood sweetheart and ex-wife of Lil W ...

''. She wrote a book called ''Priceless Inspirations'',Toya Carter: BET Reality Star & Lil Wayne's Ex Wife To Release Memoir
BV on Books (October 28, 2010). Retrieved on 2011-07-05. as well a memoir titled ''In My Own Words..My Real Reality'', ''How to Lose a Husband'', and ''You Just Don't Get It'' with her daughter, Reginae Carter. She owns a boutique called ''G.A.R.B.''
Itsarkeedah.com (October 26, 2010). Retrieved on 2011-07-05. in New Orleans, Louisiana, and GARB Shoetique in

Smyrna, Georgia Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is located northwest of Atlanta, and is in the inner ring of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. It is included in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta MSA, which is included in the Atla ...

. Johnson starred in her own reality show on

called ''Toya: A Family Affair''Toya Carter's Original Series 'Toya: A Family Affair' Premiering April 19 On BET.
Hiphopwired.com (January 7, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-07-05. which consisted of 16 episodes of one season in 2011.

Personal life

At age 14, Johnson and rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

met when she was at a corner store and Wayne was standing outside in

. She became pregnant with their daughter at the age of 14. Lil Wayne was already signed to

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

as a burgeoning rapper. He ultimately chose to fully pursue his rap career with

in order to support his child. When she was 15 and Lil Wayne was 16, Johnson gave birth to their daughter, Reginae Carter on November 29, 1998. Years later, upon Lil Wayne achieving stardom, they were married on February 14, 2004. In January 2006, however, after almost two years of marriage, the couple separated, citing her inability to cope with his lifestyle, most specifically his career keeping him away from home for long periods of time. Despite being divorced, the two have remained good friends and continued to raise their daughter together. On June 18, 2011, Johnson and Memphitz were married 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 ...

. The wedding guest list included rapper

Rasheeda Rasheeda Widad Buckner-Frost (often stylized as RaSheeda) is an American businesswoman, rapper, and television personality. Music career Music beginnings Rasheeda moved to Atlanta at 14, and she started her music career as a member of the femal ...

, Tameka Harris,

Kandi Burruss Kandi Burruss (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the multi-platinum R&B female vocal group Xscape ...

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG, who also makes the Eucerin brand. ''Nivea'' comes from the Latin adjective ''ni ...

Lauren London Lauren Nicole London (born December 5, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films and televisions shows including ''ATL (film), ATL'' (2006), This Christmas (2007 film), ''This Christmas'' (2007), ''Madea's Big Happy Fami ...

, Monica Brown, and

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons r ...

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including Carey's ''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one sin ...

and Lloyd sang at the wedding. In February 2015, Johnson confirmed that she and Wright had separated after almost four years of marriage. On July 31, 2016, Johnson's brothers Josh and Rudy were shot in New Orleans while inside of their car. On February 8, 2018, Johnson gave birth to baby girl, Reign, with her now husband, Robert "Red" Rushing. Johnson and Rushing married on October 15, 2022, in

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Toya 1983 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American writers African-American television personalities African-American women writers African-American screenwriters African-American women rappers 21st-century American women rappers Rappers from New Orleans American television writers Businesspeople from New Orleans Lil Wayne Participants in American reality television series American women television writers Writers from New Orleans 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American businesswomen