Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967),[2] known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.[3]
Gray has released ten studio albums, and received five Grammy Award nominations, winning one. She has appeared in a number of films, including Training Day, Spider-Man, Scary Movie 3, Lackawanna Blues, Idlewild, For Colored Girls, and The Paperboy. Gray is best known for her international hit single "I Try", taken from her multi-platinum debut album On How Life Is.[4] Gray was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014 in her hometown of Canton, Ohio.
Early life[edit]
Natalie McIntyre was born in Canton, Ohio,[5][6] the daughter of Laura McIntyre, a math schoolteacher,[7] and Otis Jones.[8] Her stepfather was a steelworker, and her sister is a biology teacher.[8] She has a younger brother, Nate, who owns a gym in West Philadelphia and was featured on the season five finale of Queer Eye.[9] She began piano lessons at age seven.[10] A childhood bicycle mishap resulted in her noticing a mailbox of a man named Macy Gray; she used the name in stories she wrote and later decided to use it as her stage name. She was late developing and did not learn to hold conversation until just before her tenth birthday.[8]
Gray attended school with Brian Warner (later known as musician Marilyn Manson) although they did not know each other.[10] She attended more than one high school, including a boarding school which asked her to leave due to her behavior.[10]
She attended the University of Southern California and studied scriptwriting.[8][4]
Personal life[edit]
Gray was married to Tracy Hinds, a mortgage broker, for about two years, but they divorced prior to her rise to prominence.[8] They have three children:[25] Aanisah, Mel, and Happy.[8][11]
She opened the Macy Gray Music Academy in 2005.[72]
In a July 2022 interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Gray was asked how she would define a woman, to which she answered "boobs and a vagina". She went on to state that she did not support the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports.[73][74] In the days following the interview, she said that her words had been misunderstood,[75][76] along with rejecting criticism she had received online for her views.[77] In a subsequent appearance on the Today television show, she said, "Being a woman is a vibe and it's something I'm very proud of and something that it is very precious to me. I think that if you in your heart feel that's what you are, then that's what you are regardless of what anybody says or thinks".[78]
In an opinion piece published in MarketWatch in June 2021, Gray called for a redesign of the United States flag stating that it "no longer represents democracy and freedom".[79] Her suggestions included two additional stars for Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, the white stripes to be recolored off-white and the stars to be given a variety of colors.
Studio albums