Kandi Burruss Is Breaking Records, Glass Ceilings—and the Broadway Mold
From R&B royalty to Broadway record-breaker, the Atlanta native is redefining what it means to be a multi-hyphenate woman in charge.
Christina Santi
Digital Editor
The Baccarat Hotel shimmers with old-world luxury, but it gets a flash of modern glamor on this particular day. Kandi Burruss walks in wearing a black LaQuan Smith Reverse Blazer Minidress, punctuated by a bold red lapel and a line of red buttons on the sleeve. It’s sharp. Commanding. Intentional. Just like her. She smiles warmly, ready to dive into conversation.
It’s a fitting moment for Women’s History Month—a time to honor the trailblazers, the boundary-pushers, and the women who never waited for permission. Few embody that spirit better than Kandi Burruss, whose decades-long career continues to evolve with power, poise, and purpose. From platinum-selling artist to Grammy-winning songwriter, reality TV icon, serial entrepreneur, and now Broadway powerhouse, Kandi has carved out a career that defies easy definition. She’s not just in rooms where decisions get made—she’s leading them.
“If you can conceive the thought, you can make it happen,” she says. It’s a mantra she’s lived by since her teen years at Atlanta’s Tri-Cities High School, where she studied drama and musical theater. Though most fans first met her through the ’90s R&B group Xscape, it was the stage that first held her dreams.
People ask, ‘How did you end up on Broadway?’” she says. “But the truth is, this was the dream before the dream.”
While her mother later proved to be a foundational force—supporting her ambitions even when it meant late nights in the studio or international travel as a teen—Kandi credits another woman as the spark for her drive to diversify her talents and own her future: Queen Latifah, who happens to be a Top 50 WayMaker of 2025.
“I’ll never forget it,” she says. “We were at the Lady of Soul Awards when I was 19. Queen Latifah got the Sammy Davis Jr. Award, and they listed all the things she was doing—acting, producing, managing artists, and making music. I looked at Tiny and said, ‘I’m going to win that award one day.’”
The next day, she started managing Jagged Edge, helping them land a deal with SoSo Def and launch their careers. “She was my inspiration to change lanes,” Kandi says. And she’s been doing it ever since.
Now, with her latest turn as a producer of the history-making production of Othello starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, she’s proving once again that her ambition isn’t just personal. It’s cultural. It’s communal. It’s visionary.
Before Broadway, before The Real Housewives of Atlanta, before the Grammys, there was a teenager determined not to be a cautionary tale. When Kandi signed her first record deal at 16, she also made a quiet promise to herself: success would be sustainable. She wouldn’t end up another “platinum and broke” story.
“I used to read financial books as a teenager,” she says. “I bought my first house at 19. I was living like a [grown person]—so I had to figure out how to maintain it.”
Her approach wasn’t just about money—it was about freedom. Ownership. Longevity. “Everything I was reading said you need multiple streams of income,” she explains. “So I made it my mission to figure out what else I was good at.”
“In the opportunities that I get, I’m always trying to elevate and make way for more opportunity for people like myself. For Black people, people of color, and women.”
As it turns out, the answer was: quite a lot. In addition to continuing her success with Xscape, Kandi became an in-demand songwriter, penning hits for Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, and more. Her catalog is extensive, but one song—TLC’s iconic “No Scrubs”—became a cultural mainstay. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” she laughs.
Then came reality TV. In 2009, she joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta, quickly becoming one of the franchise’s most respected (and longest-running) figures. But Kandi never saw it as just entertainment—it was a platform—one she used to promote her businesses, uplift other artists and show a multifaceted version of Black womanhood.
“In the opportunities that I get, I’m always trying to elevate and make way for more opportunity for people like myself,” she says. “For Black people, people of color, and women.”
“We had people coming to New York to see a show [who’d never been to Broadway before],” she says. Thoughts of a Colored Man was meaningful and led the Atlanta native to know she wanted to continue to do more.
She teamed up again with producing partner Brian Moreland and later her husband, Todd Tucker, to create a model for what inclusive, high-profile Broadway productions could look like. They followed Thoughts of a Colored Man with The Piano Lesson starring John David Washington and The Wiz revival. And now, they’re making history with Othello.
“This isn’t just another Shakespeare production,” Kandi says. “It’s starring Denzel Washington. It’s set in 2028. The clothes are modern. The delivery feels real and passionate. You can see yourself in it—even though they’re still using Shakespeare’s words.”
The impact is already clear. During its soft opening week, Othello became the highest-grossing ticket sales show in Broadway history—beating out The Lion King and Harry Potter. Even more impressive? Seventy percent of ticket buyers for The Piano Lesson were first-time Broadway attendees.
“We’re not just waiting for the people who already go to shows,” Kandi says. “We’re making our shows the destination.”
And that’s what makes her work feel revolutionary. She’s not just opening doors—she’s building new wings onto the house.
For all her accolades, Kandi is still dreaming bigger. She’s aiming for EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status, having already won a Grammy and been nominated for both an Emmy and a Tony. “I might be old, old, old—and I’ll still be chasing that EGOT,” she laughs.
But even as her goals expand, her core remains the same: family, legacy, and a relentless work ethic she’s passing on to her kids. “I keep my kids active. I want them to understand the importance of going after what they want—and that it takes work.”
Reflecting on her early years, she circles back to her mother. “A lot of people tell their kids to wait until after high school or college to pursue their dreams,” she says. “But my mom understood what I wanted, and she supported me. That made all the difference.”
So, during this Women’s History Month, as we celebrate the pioneers and the powerhouses, the dreamers and the doers—Kandi Burruss deserves her flowers because she’s all of them. And then some.
“Every time somebody laughs at your dream,” she says, “just be like, ‘Okay. Watch.’”
From an interview with Louis Carr
Photographs by Salvatore Demaio
Styling by Daniel Hawkins
Talent Bookings: Jasmine Jordan
Video: Travis Lloyd