Singer and actress Christina Milian was born Christine Marie Flores to Afro-Cuban parents on September 26, 1981, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She grew up in Waldorf, Maryland, and began appearing in commercials at a young age. Milian attended Westlake High School in Waldorf, but moved to Los Angeles with her family to pursue an acting career at age 13. Her parents divorced shortly thereafter.
Milian made her first professional musical appearance on rapper Ja Rule’s second studio album Rule 3:36 (2000), performing vocals on the song “Between Me and You”. The song was released as the album’s lead single in 2000, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100,] and in the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart. Milian co-wrote and performed backing vocals for the track “Play” for Jennifer Lopez’s album J. Lo (2001), and co-wrote “Same Ol’ Same Ol'”, the second single from girl group PYT’s debut album PYT (Down with Me) (2001).
Milian’s collaboration with Ja Rule led to a record deal with Def Soul Records, prompted by his affiliation with Murder Inc. Records, an imprint that was distributed through Def Jam, the parent label of Def Soul Records. She travelled to Sweden and recorded her self-titled debut album. The album was released on October 9, 2001 in the UK, peaking at number 23 and selling a total of 101,986 copies.
Milian’s second studio album, It’s About Time, was released in the US on July 13, 2004.] The critical response to the album was mixed; the club tracks, most notably lead single “Dip It Low”, were praised while the ballads were said to be disappointing. The style and sound of the album was compared to that of Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez by several critics. Milian later admitted that her new sexy image for “Dip It Low” and the whole album was mainly for shock value.
Milian also garnered a steady stream of acting roles, starring in the 2007 TV movie Snowglobe alongside Lorraine Bracco. In 2009, she shared the screen with Matthew McConaughey in the comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and showed off her cheerleading skills in Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. In 2013, Milian appeared as one of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars.
On January 18, 2015, Milian debuted her reality show Christina Milian Turned Up. The series follows the day-to-day lives of Christina, her mother Carmen and her two sisters, Danielle and Liz Milian. It was renewed for a second season in April,] which premiered in November 2015.
In 2010, Milian gave birth to a baby girl, Violet Madison Nash. The father was Grammy Award-winning music producer The-Dream, who had married Milian about six months prior. However, the couple split only a few months later after pictures were published of The-Dream with another woman.