Cassie Ventura

Casandra Elizabeth Ventura (born August 26, 1986) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and model.

Cassie briefly appeared in R&B singer Mario's "Just a Friend 2002" music video.

Encouraged by producer Rockwilder, Ventura took vocal lessons, modern ballet, as well as using her school's performing arts program.

Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her musical career after meeting record producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004, who signed her to his record label, NextSelection Lifestyle Group.

Two years later, Ventura released her debut single "Me & U", which was discovered by rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs; Leslie agreed to partner his NextSelection imprint with Combs' Bad Boy Records for the commercial release of her debut album.

She finished high school in 2004 and moved to New York City, where she returned to modeling and classes at the Broadway Dance Center.

She began booking print and commercial modeling gigs and being represented by Wilhelmina Models.

Ryan Leslie spotted Cassie at clubs and parties in late 2004 frequently.

The two wrote a duet called "Kiss Me", and after recording the track, Leslie played the song for music executive Tommy Mottola.

Mottola offered Cassie a management deal, and Leslie signed her to NextSelection Lifestyle Group.

Leslie wrote and produced Cassie's first single, "Me & U", in 2005.

The song became a club hit in Germany.

During this time, Diddy heard "Me & U" in a club, and Leslie convinced him to partner his Bad Boy Records with Leslie's NextSelection imprint for the release of Cassie's debut album.

Ryan Leslie produced most of the album, which is a mix of R&B, hip hop and pop.

Ventura said in an interview, "I rap, I sing, I do my R&B, I do my slow songs and stuff that the girls will love, I have a down South joint, I have a rock song that I did with my girls this band called Pretty Boys."

She paid tribute to her Filipino culture by incorporating OPM sounds into some of the ballads.

As the song marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, it soon peaked at number three on the chart by July 2006.

With "Me & U" issued as its lead single, Ventura's self-titled debut studio album was released in August 2006, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200.

The album, Cassie, was released on August 8, 2006, and sold 321,000 copies in the United States.

The album's lead single "Me & U" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, selling more than 1 million digital downloads.

To promote her album, Ventura performed on Total Request Live and 106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live.

Her performances were described as "rocky" and "less-than-stellar", but Combs said that it was due to her inexperience.

He said that he would be "with her through her development", and that he has no "question on her ability [to sing]".

Ventura addressed the events on her MySpace page, saying that she is aware that her performances were "pretty bad", and that she was "still getting over stage fright".

MTV News reported in June 2007 that contrary to rumors, Ventura had not been dropped from Bad Boy Records after releasing two singles from her self-titled debut album.

Combs said that she was in the studio working with producers Kanye West and Pharrell Williams on her second album.

It was reported that Ventura was no longer collaborating with Ryan Leslie, who had produced the majority of her debut album.

However, the singer later stated that she was open to collaborating with Leslie again.

According to Bad Boy A&R Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell, rather than largely relying on the one songwriter-producer, the new album's mix of writers and producers, as well as her own co-write input, makes it a more personal record for her.

Additional production on the album came from Seven and LV, as well as Combs himself.

In 2008, Ventura released the single "Official Girl" (featuring Lil Wayne).

Additionally, she has appeared in films such as Step Up 2: The Streets (2008) and The Perfect Match (2016).

Ventura was born in New London, Connecticut.

Her mother is of African-American, Mexican and West Indian descent, and her father is Filipino.

She attended The Williams School, a preparatory school, located on the Connecticut College campus.

At age 14, Cassie began modeling and by 16 was modeling for local department stores, Delia's fashion catalog and Seventeen.

The following year, she released the singles "Must Be Love" (featuring Diddy) and "Let's Get Crazy" (featuring Akon); she signed with Interscope Records to release her debut mixtape RockaByeBaby (2013), which was promoted by the music videos for its singles "Numb" (featuring Rick Ross) and "Paradise" (featuring Wiz Khalifa).

Ventura signed to modeling agency Wilhelmina Models early in her career, and later One Management.

She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been featured in magazines including GQ, Seventeen, and Bust, also becoming the public face of ASOS's 2013 spring collection.

Ventura has starred in advertising for Delia's, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Clean & Clear.