Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), professionally known as Melanie Brown, Melanie B, Mel B, and Scary Spice, is an English pop singer and songwriter turned actress and television personality best known as one of the members of the girl group the Spice Girls, one of the most successful female groups of all time.[1] She was given the nickname "Scary Spice" by the British media because of her outrageous, "in-your-face" attitude, 'loud' Leeds accent, throaty laugh, manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits), and her voluminously curly hair.
Brown was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, to a white English mother, Andrea, and a Black Nevisian father, Martin. She has a younger sister named Danielle who is an actress. She studied performing arts at Intake High School, in Leeds, before entering the entertainment industry. For a time she worked as a dancer in the holiday resort, Blackpool, Lancashire.