Nadja Benaissa (born April 26, 1982 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse) is a German singer, songwriter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as a member of the girl group No Angels. In 2005 she launched a career as a solo artist. Benaissa was the second child born to an African-Moroccan father, Muhamed Benaissa, and a half Serbian-German mother, Sabina. She and her older brother Amin were primarily raised in Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main, Hesse.In October 1999, at the age of 17, Nadja gave birth to the her only child, a daughter, Leila Jamila. Though Benaissa and her then-boyfriend ended their relationship and simultaneously broke contact, the single mother continued to attend evening classes.In 2000 Benaissa decided to audition for the debut of the German reality television program Popstars. She entered the competition with thousands of other women, and the judges Simone Angel, Rainer Moslener and Mario M. Mendryzcki were impressed with her performance of Mariah Carey's hit single "Hero". She earned a position in the top thirty finalists and immediately travelled to Mallorca, Spain to join her competitors for a workshop there. Though struggling with dancing choreographies, Benaissa made it to the final ten on the show, and during a special episode in November 2000, jury member Angel disclosed that Nadja was chosen to become part of the final girl group, later called No Angels.In 2004 Nadja Benaissa signed a solo deal with Universal Records. While she started planning her debut album, Benaissa made a few promotional appearances for Nike. Furthermore she was seen in cameo appearances in music videos by Moses Pelham, and Bootsy Collins and in a supporting role in the television film Eine Unter Tausend, playing the role of a professional dancer. In fall 2005 Benaissa went on tour as supporting act for Simply Red. Afterwards she prepared the release of her second single "Ich Hab Dich", which was chosen to represent Hesse on the 2nd Bundesvision Song Contest. In June 2006 Nadja participated into another non-profit-making aid project, when she provided vocals for a Fury in the Slaughterhouse cover, "Won't Forget These Days", released over the course of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.Profile Edited by MPS MySpace Editor 2.0
