Biography

Diva Tyler Collins was born in Harlem and raised in Detroit, beginning dance lessons at age seven and making her stage debut a year later. Upon relocating to Los Angeles she continued to concentrate on the theater, appearing in a series of musicals and dramas and in time joining the children's performance group the Willow Opera Workshop. In 1987 Collins joined the teen R&B group the Boys Next Door, soon signing to Jermaine Jackson's short-lived Work Records label; she left the group two years later to mount a solo career, debuting with the album Girls Nite Out and scoring a pair of major hits with the title track and "Whatcha Gonna Do." In addition to writing songs for performers including Celine Dion, Jeffrey Osborne and Shanice, in 1991 Collins returned to acting, appearing in the film A Rage in Harlem; a year later she continued her music career with Tyler. In 1994, she also scored a hit single with "Thanks to You," the theme from the film Andre. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi