Collins was born in
Harlem, New York and raised in
Detroit,
Michigan. Collins began taking lessons in dance and theatre, and performing with the children's theatre group Willow Opera Workshop in
Los Angeles,
California. Her professional music career began singing lead for an R&B group called The Boys Next Door. The group signed with
Jermaine Jackson's label, Work Records, which later folded. Collins' songwriting came to the forefront for her second album
Tyler, which was a decidedly more pop-oriented effort than
Girls Nite Out. The set featured the singles "It Doesn't Matter" (co-written by
Siedah Garrett) and "Just Make Me The One." Tyler has also written songs for
Celine Dion,
Shanice, and
Jeffrey Osborne. She also took part in the group recording
Freedom (Theme From Panther) in 1995 featuring scores of young female R&B artists including
Aaliyah,
En Vogue,
TLC, and others. Also in 1995, Tyler Collins recorded ''Never Alone (Eeyore's Lullaby)
for the Winnie the Pooh tribute album. Take My Hand: Songs from the Hundred Acre Wood
; it reached #48 on the Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks. Her work with
Prince lead to a solo recording contract at
Warner Bros. Records. Though a full-length release never materialized, the deal did yield Collins' recording of the Top 20 Adult Contemporary song
Thanks to You, produced by Clif Magness, the theme song to the Paramount Pictures' film
Andre. A music video for the song is included at the end of the movie. Apart from her singing career, Collins has also appeared in several television shows and motion pictures. She played the role of Tina in the 1991 film
A Rage in Harlem, starring
Gregory Hines and
Forest Whitaker. She also starred in another film entitled
Why Colors? and played her highest-profile role as Cinderella on a first-season episode of
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Collins was previously married to Bobby Smith Jr., screenwriter for the urban drama ''
Jason's Lyric''. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her daughter. ==Discography==