Mya Marie Harrison, known professionally as Mya, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and producer. Born on October 10, 1979, in Washington, D.C., she was raised in the Washington metropolitan area and began studying ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Dance initially appeared to be her main artistic direction, but music became increasingly important during her teenage years. She learned violin and singing, and her father, a musician, helped circulate early demo recordings that eventually brought her to the attention of University Music and Interscope Records.
Mya emerged during the late 1990s wave of commercially successful young R&B artists. Her self-titled debut album, Mya, was released in 1998 and introduced a polished, youthful sound built around contemporary R&B, pop melodies, and hip-hop-influenced production. The album produced the singles "It's All About Me," featuring Sisqo, and "Movin' On," both of which became significant R&B hits. Her poised vocals and dance background helped establish her as a performer who could move comfortably between radio pop, R&B, and visual entertainment.
Her profile expanded through high-profile collaborations. In 1998, she appeared alongside Pras and Ol' Dirty Bastard on "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)," a major international hit from the soundtrack to the film Bulworth. Mya followed with her second album, Fear of Flying, in 2000. Its best-known single, "Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)," became one of her signature recordings and demonstrated a more assured approach to relationship-centered R&B.
Mya reached the peak of her mainstream visibility in 2001 as part of "Lady Marmalade," a new version of the LaBelle classic recorded with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Pink for Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge! The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The success also reinforced Mya's reputation as a versatile entertainer rather than an artist limited to solo album releases.
Her third studio album, Moodring, arrived in 2003 and gave her greater creative control. The record blended sleek R&B with funk, club music, and more experimental production, yielding the singles "My Love Is Like...Wo" and "Fallen." Around the same period, Mya developed a parallel acting career. She appeared in the musical film Chicago, playing one of the inmates in the "Cell Block Tango" sequence. The ensemble received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. She later took roles in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Shall We Dance?, and Cursed.
After moving away from her original major-label arrangements, Mya released Liberation through Motown, with the album receiving limited distribution in Japan. She subsequently established the independent Planet 9 label, allowing her to oversee recordings and releases more directly. Projects including Sugar & Spice, Beauty & the Streets, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple), and several independent EPs reflected a more self-directed phase of her career.
Her 2016 album Smoove Jones earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album, while T.K.O. followed in 2018. Mya also remained visible through acting, touring, and television, finishing as runner-up with Dmitry Chaplin on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars in 2009. In 2026, she released Retrospect, an album drawing on the funk, soul, pop, and R&B sounds of the 1970s and 1980s. The project confirmed her continuing interest in artistic independence while reconnecting her mature work with the musical traditions that shaped her early career.