Aubrey O'Day

Aubrey Morgan O'Day was born on February 11, 1984, in San Francisco, California. A singer, reality television personality, and Broadway performer, she began performing at age five and developed an early passion for the stage. As a child, she took on lead roles in musical productions including Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Carmen in Fame, Sandy in Grease, Liesl in The Sound of Music, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, and Mimi in Rent, and also appeared in Annie. Her primary musical influences growing up included The Notorious B.I.G., Sean "Puffy" Combs, Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson, and Christina Aguilera. O'Day attended La Quinta High School before going on to study political science and drama at the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a degree in political science and became a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

O'Day came to national attention in 2004 when she was discovered on the MTV reality series Making the Band 3, created by Sean "Diddy" Combs. She emerged as the show's breakout star and was the first member selected for the group that would become known as Danity Kane. The group's debut album arrived on August 22, 2006, entering the Billboard 200 at number one. Danity Kane subsequently served as the opening act for Christina Aguilera on the U.S. leg of her Back to Basics Tour, alongside the Pussycat Dolls. During the competition phase of Making the Band 3, Blender magazine approached O'Day to appear in their September 2005 issue, describing her as the contestant who had beaten out nearly 10,000 girls for a spot in the group.

Tensions between O'Day and Combs escalated over her evolving public image, and on the October 7, 2008, episode of Making the Band, Combs declared her no longer a member of Danity Kane. Her departure, along with that of bandmate D. Woods, was confirmed on the October 14, 2008, episode. O'Day was officially released from her Bad Boy Records contract on the April 16, 2009, episode of the show. On the April 23, 2009, finale, she returned alongside three former group members to address misconceptions surrounding the breakup. O'Day reunited with Danity Kane in 2013, though the group disbanded a second time before reuniting again in 2018 as a trio. Separately, she formed the duo Dumblonde with former Danity Kane member Shannon Bex, a collaboration that ran from 2015 to 2019.

On July 18, 2008, O'Day began performing the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Broadway musical Hairspray, marking her Broadway debut. She had previously appeared on Broadway in 2002. Following her Broadway run, she joined the cast of Jerry Mitchell's musical Peepshow at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, performing in the role of Peep Diva from September 2009 through late December 2009. She also appeared in the 2009 comedy film American High School, costarring Nikki Ziering, and was featured on a single by Donnie Wahlberg titled "I Got It."

In 2011, O'Day signed a solo recording deal with SRC/Universal Motown Records and released her debut EP, Between Two Evils, in 2013. Her modeling work has appeared in publications including Blender and Playboy. O'Day has maintained a consistent presence in reality television, appearing on her own series All About Aubrey, the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, Famously Single, Ex on the Beach, the British edition of Celebrity Big Brother, The Masked Singer, the fifth season of Baddies, and Dance Moms.