Cassie Ventura

She holds a Baccalaureate of Arts degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from UIW.

She was romantically associated with Diddy from 2006 to 2008, and re-united with him again in 2015 following which the two are going strong till present.

Casandra Elizabeth Ventura was born on August 26, 1986, in New London, Connecticut, US. Her father is a Filipino while her mother is of African-American, West Indian and Mexican descent. She has a brother, Rod. She studied at the Williams School, Connecticut College campus.

She ventured into modelling at age 14, and began modelling for local department stores, Seventeen (magazine) and fashion catalogue of Delia's.

She briefly featured in the music video of ‘Just a Friend 2002’ by American singer Mario. She took lessons in vocals and modern ballet and also attended performing arts program of the school.

She completed her high school education in 2004. Thereafter, she relocated to New York City and made a comeback in modelling. She attended classes at the ‘Broadway Dance Center’ and also started booking print and commercial modelling gigs.

She was discovered by record producer Ryan Leslie, who spotted her frequently at clubs and parties during the late 2002. He helped her in recording demo tapes. They co-wrote the duet, ‘Kiss Me,’ and Leslie recorded and played the song for music executive Tommy Mottola, who, in turn, offered a management deal to Cassie.

In 2005, Leslie signed Cassie as the first artist of his music-media company, NextSelection Lifestyle Group,’ that he founded with Rasheed Richmond. Guided by Leslie, Cassie emerged among the fastest rising R&B acts of that year.

Her debut single, ‘Me & U’, written and produced by Leslie, was released on April 25, 2006, as the lead single of her eponymous first album, ‘Cassie’ (2006). The track peaked at #3 on the ‘U.S. Billboard Hot 100’ in 2006 and stayed in top forty for around 20 weeks. It became a club hit in Germany and emerged among the biggest records in Atlantic Records’ history.

Her self-titled debut album, ‘Cassie,’ was released by Leslie’s ‘NextSelection,’ ‘Diddy’s Bad Boy Records,’ and ‘Atlantic Records’ on August 8, 2006. It was an experimental R&B and pop album with influences of hip hop, and was produced by Leslie.

The album, ‘Cassie,’ debuted at #4 on the ‘US Billboard 200’ and remained on the chart for 13 weeks. It received critical acclaim and garnered comparisons to Janet Jackson. She performed at the MTV television series ‘Total Request Live’ and on BET’s popular hip hop and R&B music video show ‘106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live’ to promote the album.