Brely Evans is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, author and comedian. She was a member of the 1990s R&B group Emage. She moved into acting and appeared in films such as Sparkle (2012) and The Man in 3B (2015) and the 2019 Oprah Winfrey Network primetime soap opera, Ambitions. She starred in BET drama series The Family Business (2020–2022) and Haus of Vicious (2022–present).
Life and career
Evans was born and raised in Oakland, California.[1] She was a member in the early 1990s R&B group Emage. Their only album, Soul Deep, was mostly produced by D'Wayne Wiggins from Tony Toni Toné and was released in 1994 by Mercury Records.[2] Their only notable single, "The Choice Is Yours," reached #81 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[3] Evans later received a bachelor’s degree in marketing in Los Angeles and landed a job in Larrabee Sound Studios. She also became a session singer, sang backup on several Warren G songs, and worked on Dr. Dre’s debut studio album, The Chronic.[4] By the end of the 2000s, Evans worked as a real estate agent and sold her first home to Queen Latifah.[4] Evans later had a minor role in the 2010 romantic comedy Just Wright starring Latifah.[4]
In 2010s, Evans began acting in films such as He's Mine Not Yours (2011), Note to Self (2012), and the 2012 remake of Sparkle.[5][6] She co-starred in the Regina King-directed drama Let the Church Say Amen, and appeared in David E. Talbert's Suddenly Single (2013), Black Coffee (2014), The Man in 3B (2015), and played the leading role in You Can't Fight Christmas (2017).[7] On television, Evans had a recurring roles on BET drama series Being Mary Jane from 2014 to 2015, and TV One comedy series Born Again Virgin in 2015.
In 2019, Evans was cast in two series regular roles. First, a female lead on the Bounce TV comedy series Last Call opposite Charles Malik Whitfield.[8] Later that year, she began starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, Ambitions, playing Rondell Lancaster, the sister of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster (Brian J. White).[9][10] The series was canceled after one season. In 2020 she co-starred in the made-for-television movie Steppin' Back to Love, starred in the first season of Urban Movie Channel horror-anthology series Terror Lake Drive, and the Urban Movie Channel comedy-drama series For the Love of Jason.[11][12]
In 2020, Evans was cast as Sonya Duncan in the second season of BET crime drama series The Family Business. She was promoted to series regular for the fourth season.[13] In 2022 she co-starred opposite Meagan Tandy in the thriller film Stalked Within and played the lead in the romantic drama film Single Not Searching.[14][15] Later in 2022 she starred opposite Tami Roman in the BET drama series Haus of Vicious.[16][17] The following year, Evans starred opposite Denise Boutte in the TV One and Lifetime drama film A Mother's Intuition, and the comedy-drama Whatever It Takes alongside Tami Roman, A.J. Johnson and Kandi Burruss.[18] In 2023, Evans starred as GeGe in the We TV drama series Kold x Windy.[19]
