Rhona Bennett

Rhona Lynn Bennett-Simon (born May 10, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, author, and life coach. She came to prominence as a cast member of the Disney Channel's variety show The All New Mickey Mouse Club in which she appeared for four seasons. After the show ended, Bennett ventured into acting and was a guest actor on several television series, before becoming a regular on the UPN sitcom Homeboys in Outer Space (1996-1997) and in the fourth season of The WB's The Jamie Foxx Show.

In 2000, she launched a music career and was signed with Sony Music through producer Rodney Jerkins' label. While the album first single, "Satisfied," became a top five hit on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, her self-titled debut album received a limited Japan-wide release only. In 2003, she became a performing member of the R&B group En Vogue, with whom she has intermittently toured and released music ever since, including their latest albums Soul Flower (2004) and Electric Café (2018). Concurrent with her projects with En Vogue, Bennett released her second solo album Instant Classic in 2024.

Beginning in the 2010s, Bennett expanded her career to include work as an author. speaker and life coach, alongside her ongoing activities as an actress and singer. In 2012, she published the mini-book Got Motivation? How to Stay Motivated. Since then, she has written several other mini-books on topics such as nutrition, motivation, and coping with everyday challenges and illness. In 2016, Bennett also launched her online coaching school Personal Power University.

Early life Bennett, the younger sister of former Chicago Force right guard Roz Bennett, was raised in Calumet Park, Chicago. She began her musical journey as a child, singing in church choirs in her hometown of Chicago — most notably with the renowned Soul Children. At age 11, she became background singer at the ETA Creative Arts Theater, where she performed her first major part in a stage production of A Christmas Carol.

2000–2008: Rhona and En Vogue In late 2000, Bennett signed with Sony Music under producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins' newfly founded boutique imprint Darkchild Records, where she was given the title "First Lady of Darkchild." Jerkins recruited most of his regular collaborators to work alongside Bennett and him on her self-titled debut album, including Robert "Big Bert" Smith, LaShawn Daniels, and his brother Fred Jerkins III. Following a promotional world trip, further plans to release Rhona were put on hold after a fallout between Sony Music and Darkchild Records. The following year, Bennett was asked to join R&B girl group En Vogue as a performing member after being recommended to the band's mentor Denzel Foster through a mutual friend and songwriting partner, replacing Amanda Cole. During her five-year tenure with the band, Bennett released the album Soul Flower (2004) along with original band members Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron.

2009–present: Solo projects and return to En Vogue

Following her departure from En Vogue, Bennett began work on her second solo album, The Anticipation of R&B, under her own label, Tone'n'Rhone Productions. She worked with a variety of musicians on the project, including producers J.Y. Park, Cool Ruckus, Peter Zora, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, as well as guest vocalists such as Brandy, 40 Glocc and her former En Vogue colleagues Ellis and Herron. with a third single, "Don't Call Me" also eventually being cancelled. Bennett later released several songs from The Anticipation of R&B on her SoundCloud account.

In 2010, Bennett launched her Personal Power coaching business under her alias Coach Rho. In 2012, she began authoring mini-books, starting with Got Motivation? How To Stay Motivated and followed by Find and Pursue Your Passion... Even with a Regular Job (2012) Eating Healthier for Less (2013), Beyond a Wish – How to Discover the Champion Within (2014), and Beyond the Fear: Real Stories of Inspiration while facing Illness and Adversity (2015). The same year, Bennett rejoined En Vogue after new material by all four original members had failed to materialize again and both Robinson and Jones once more had left the band. In July 2014, Bennett, Ellis, and Herron began work on En Vogue's seventh album Electric Café. In November, the trio appeared in the Lifetime holiday film An En Vogue Christmas, in which they played fictional versions of themselves.

In 2016, Bennett launched her online coaching school Personal Power University and released the solo single "Take Me There" through her own label Butterfly In Flight, which was expected to precede a solo EP entitled R&B Gumbo. As with The Anticipation of R&B, this EP ultimately failed to materialze, despite the recordings being completed. Following the release of Electric Café, her second studio album with En Vogue and first in a decade, as well as intense touring and promotional activities with the band, Bennett wrote and released the book Saving Your Soul, a self-help guide to help musicians through the entertainment industry, in August 2022. She also released her second studio album Instant Classic through Butterfly In Flight in November 2024.

Personal life After meeting and becoming friends as freshmen in high school,

Discography

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions JPN Rhona Released: June 20, 2001 Label: Darkchild, Epic Formats: CD, cassette 37 Instant Classic Released: October 29, 2024 Label: Butterfly In Flight Formats: Digital, vinyl —

Singles

Selected filmography Films Title Year Role No Vacancy 1999 Penelope Malibu's Most Wanted 2003 Sister #2 An En Vogue Christmas 2014 Herself Coming 2 America 2021 Herself

Television series Title Year Role Notes Brewster Place 1990 Ernestine Dillard Johnson "Say It Loud" (season 1, episode 10) Martin 1995 Woman #2 "Ring a Ding, Ding, Gone" (season 4, episode 4) Living Single 1996 Jordan "Glass Ceiling" (season 3, episode 26) Homeboys in Outer Space 1996–1997 Loquatia 21 episodes The Jamie Foxx Show 1999–2000 Nicole Evans 12 episodes Second Time Around 2005 Martine "The Dinner Party" (season 1, episode 13)