Farrah Franklin

Farrah Laron Franklin (born May 3, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She is also a former member of the girl group Destiny's Child. Along with Michelle Williams, she replaced the group's original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. Franklin spent several months with the group before departing as a member. While her musical contribution to the group was minimal, Franklin's vocals are featured on the group's single "Independent Women Part I" which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following her departure. Franklin was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and raised in Fresno, California. She considers Lawrence Bohanon to be her father, as she never met her biological father, Rodney Allen Heard. She is of African-American and Italian descent, and the oldest of fifteen children, including a younger sister named Karrie. She is also the cousin of late singer and rapper Natina Reed. Franklin grew up attending church. She started singing at age two, inspired by Bohanon, who played bass guitar in local bands. When Franklin was eight, she began performing in plays at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium. She was in the concert choir at Central High School, where she was bullied. At fifteen, Franklin decided to leave Fresno to pursue a career in entertainment following her aunt's relocation to Los Angeles. She went by the name 'Destiny Franklin' before her stint in Destiny's Child.