Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds
Birth Name:
Kenneth Brian Edmonds
Birth Place:
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Profession
Soundtrack, Actor, Producer, Music department
Fast Facts
- Has won such awards for his charitable work as the Essence Award for Excellence and The City of Hope Award
- Personally helped raise over $500,000 for The Little Blue House, a transitional home in Washington D․C․, and donated $100,000 out of his own pocket to the VH-1 Save the Music program
- After Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, he was the third to receive the BET Walk of Fame Award
- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013
- Was honored by the National Council of Negro Women at the 2015 D․C․ Gala for Philanthropy
- Got married to Nicole Patenburg in 2014
- While he was a teen, he played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who was the first to call him Babyface
- Quote: "For me, I just kind of pushed at what just seemed to come natural and it was just music and writing songs from a very early age that it just kind of stayed with me․"
- Quote: "A musician is kind of like what it comes down to, and a musician should be able to play more than one kind of music․"
- Has written hit R&B and Pop songs for Whitney Houston, Boys II Men, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mary J․ Blige, Michael Jackson, TLC, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, John Mellon and many more
- Recorded 11 solo albums that explore love, romance and relationships and have influenced contemporary pop music
- Founded LaFace Records in 1989
- A 25-mile stretch of Interstate 65 that passes through Indianapolis was named Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway in 1999
- In junior high, he and his friends used to bet each other that if they didn't do things like beat a car to a corner they would never make it as musicians
Awards
- 1990Most Performed Song from a FilmWinner
- 1993Most Performed Song from a FilmWinner
- 1996BMI Film Music AwardWinner
- 1996Most Performed Song from a FilmWinner
- 1996Grammy - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:Nominated
- 1997Grammy - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:Nominated
- 1997Grammy - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:Nominated
- 1997Grammy - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:Nominated
- 1998Grammy - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television:Nominated
- 1998Golden Satellite Award - Best Original Song:Nominated
- 2000ASCAP Award - Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures:Winner
- 2000Golden Globe - Best Original Song - Motion Picture:Nominated
- 2000Grammy - Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media:Nominated
- 2001Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Main Title Theme Music:Nominated
- 2002Image Award - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:Nominated
- 2017Leo - Best Television Movie:Winner