Lovely Hoffman

Lovely Hoffman is an American recording artist, musical theater performer, record producer, musician, actress and educator. She is best known for her 2017 breakout single "My Black Is Beautiful", a song she wrote to address low self-esteem among young girls of color. In 2010, Lovely established herself in the theatre arts world when she was cast to co-star alongside Broadway star Marissa Perry in a production of Hairspray the musical, which was directed by Todd Michel Smith and Judine Somerville both cast members of the original Broadway production. She received notable recognition in 2007 when her debut single, "Can't Wait" peaked #10 on the urban college radio charts. Lovely has also performed and shared the stage with other notable R&B artists including Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Ne-Yo and multi-platinum recording artist and producer T-Pain.

Early life and education Hoffman was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston. Her father is a pastor and she grew up singing in her father’s church. Growing up, she struggled with self-esteem and credits Brandy Norwood as one of her influences and inspiration for helping overcome some of her insecurities.

Theatre In September 2013, Hoffman was cast in the lead role of Celie for a New England production of The Color Purple, a role which Whoopi Goldberg originally portrayed in the Steven Spielberg directed film based on the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker. Produced by Speakeasy Stage Company, the show opened January 10, 2014 as a Boston premiere. In October 2019, Lovely starred as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who is often referred to as the "Godmother of Rock & Roll," in the Greater Boston Stage Company production of Marie and Rosetta, a play with music written by George Brant, that chronicles the legendary American gospel singer and guitarist’s time with her protegee, Marie Knight, who together, rose to become a great gospel duo.

Music As a former middle-school history teacher, Hoffman noticed that young black girls were self-conscious about their appearance and as a result lacked confidence, which correlated to their academic achievement. She wrote a song "My Black Is Beautiful," to address low self-esteem issues among teenage girls of color. The song achieved wide popularity and gained significant public media attention for challenging beauty standards and empowering young school-aged girls of color with confidence in order to improve their performance in school. The single was released in February, 2017, and rose to #45 on the Urban Adult Contemporary radio charts, making it Hoffman’s first release to gain mainstream success.

Theatre performance Year Title Role Producer Notes 2019 Marie and Rosetta Rosetta Tharpe Greater Boston Stage Company 2019 Little Shop of Horrors Crystal Lyric Stage Company of Boston Version: Broadway Revival 2013 The Color Purple Celie SpeakEasy Stage Company Cast in lead role – Celie; New England regional premiere 2012 Little Shop of Horrors Crystal New Repertory Theatre Played the role of Crystal; one third of the Street Urchins girl trio 2011 Ain't Misbehavin Nell Carter Lyric Stage Company of Boston Played the role "Nell Carter" played in the Original Broadway Cast 2011 Ragtime Sara's Friend Emerson Umbrella 2011 Sunfish Storyteller Stoneham Theatre 2010 Hairspray Dynamite Reagle Music Theatre Understudy: Motormouth Maybelle 2010 Ain't Misbehavin Armelia McQueen Lexington Players 2009 Hair Dionne Winthrop Players 2009 Our Story Various Characters Origination 2007 Ntune Ensemble Quannapowitt Players

Singles