Melissa Etheridge

In October 2004 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but is expected to make a full recovery.
. Though limited in acting experience it has been announced that a sitcom is in production to star Etheridge as a lesbian living with her heterosexual male best friend (together raising a third person's child.) Critics have predicted that it will be "like Will & Grace except cancelled.". They appeared onstage together at an exclusive block party in New York City that month, hosted by Dave Chappelle. After splitting from Cypher she went on in 2003 to marry actress Tammy Lynn Michaels. In September 2004, it was announced that The Fugees have settled their differences and are currently working on a new album. She had a long-term partnership with Julie Cypher, which whom she had two children via a sperm donor, David Crosby. Though the Fugees remain tight-lipped about the exact reasons, most fans believe that a serious personality conflict between Hill and Jean contributed to their breakup following The Score.

Etheridge is also famous as a gay rights activist, having publicly come out as a lesbian during President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in January 1993. After each member found success in other ventures, the Fugees failed to reform. She has won the Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance twice in her career, for the song "Ain't It Heavy" in 1992 and "Come to My Window", in 1994. After 1997, the Fugees all began solo projects: Hill started work on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Jean began producing for a number of artists (including Destiny's Child and Carlos Santana) and recorded his debut album The Carnival, and Michel, with Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard, recorded the single "Ghetto Superstar" for the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty/Halle Berry film Bulworth. Two others went platinum and another gold. The Fugees won two 1997 Grammy Awards: The Score won for Best Rap Album, and "Killing Me Softly With His Song" won for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Three of them have gone multi-platinum: Melissa Etheridge (1988), Yes I Am (1993) and Your Little Secret (1996). The album also included a re-interpretation of The Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)" in their hit single "Ready or Not".

Etheridge has produced eight albums since signing her first major recording contract in 1987. The Fugees were known for their unusual choice of covers and sampling sources on both albums; The Score, for example, included covers of "No Woman No Cry" (Bob Marley & the Wailers) and "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)" (Roberta Flack), which was their first and only #1 pop hit. She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas. Despite the relative failure of their first album, The Score became one of the biggest hits of 1996 and was one of the first hip hop albums to incorporate reggae in a major way. Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American rock musician. The trio released their first LP, Blunted on Reality, after a long period of performing, but the album failed to live up the expectations of fans who attended their concerts. CMT.com: Melissa Etheridge: Biography (http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/melissa_etheridge/bio.jhtml). Hill and Jean each went on to successful solo recording careers, while Michel focused mainly on soundtrack recordings and film acting.

Lucky (2004). Deriving their name from the term "refugee", the group is noted for the integration of soul and reggae into their work, and recorded two albums--one of which, The Score, was a multi-platinum and Grammy-winning success--before going their separate ways after 1997. Skin (2001). Both Jean and Michel are of Haitian heritage; Hill is an African American native of South Orange, New Jersey. Breakdown (1999). The members of the group are leader/rapper/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel. Your Little Secret (1995). The Fugees are an American music group, popular during the mid-1990s, whose repertoire includes primarily hip hop, with elements of soul, and Carribean music (particularly reggae).

Yes I Am (1993). Fugees Lyrics (http://www.lyricscafe.com/f/fugees.htm). Never Enough (1992). Fugees Fansite (http://user.aol.com/Snicka/fugee2.htm). Brave and Crazy (1989). 1996: "Ready or Not". Melissa Etheridge (1988). 1996: "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)" (US #1).

1995: "Fu-Gee-La" (US #29). 1994: "Vocab". 1994: "Nappy Heads" (US #49). 1996: The Score.

1994: Blunted on Reality.