Toni SeaWright

Toni SeaWright is an American actress and singer-songwriter born in 1964 or 1965. Before establishing herself as a performer, she made history in her home state of Mississippi, becoming the first African American to be crowned Miss Mississippi in 1987. That same year she represented Mississippi at the Miss America Pageant, where she finished as fourth runner-up.

SeaWright earned her degree from the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi, where she majored in Vocal Music and Business. Her time at the institution was marked by several firsts: she was the first African American to earn a music degree there and the first to perform a vocal recital at the school. Her path to Miss Mississippi began at the local level, where she competed for and won the Miss W title, the preliminary competition that qualified her for the state pageant.

Her professional performing career spans both studio work and the stage. As a background vocalist, SeaWright contributed to recordings by artists including Teena Marie, Freddie Jackson, Tony Terry, RuPaul, Shaggy, and Laura Branigan. On Broadway, she appeared in Street Corner Symphony and The Wiz between 1992 and 1997, with the latter production featuring her alongside Stephanie Mills and Andre DeShields. Her off-Broadway work includes the play Josh (The Black Babe Ruth)/Satchel (Requiem for Racism) at the National Federal Theater, also known as the Abron Arts Center, and the role of Sister Ann in the AUDELCO award-winning production What Would Jesus Do? at the Billie Holiday Theater. She has also appeared as Miss Mamie in The Widow and Miss Mamie at the Harlem School of the Arts.

SeaWright has two sons, Qaasim Middleton and Khalil Middleton, with her ex-husband Keith "Wild Child" Middleton, who performed in STOMP. She has been involved in writing and producing material for the two brothers. Qaasim appeared as a regular cast member on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, on which SeaWright guest starred in two episodes in 2008, and later became a finalist on Season 14 of American Idol. Khalil appeared on Noggin's Jack's Big Music Show.