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Who is Pebbles? Perri “Pebbles” Reid is a singer and songwriter who scored a number of ‘80s and ‘90s hits and is credited with discovering TLC. Pebbles looms large in the TLC story, and in March 2013, VH1 announced that Rochelle Aytes, she of “Mistresses” fame, would portray Pebbles in “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,” a made-for-TV movie about the R&B trio set to premiere on Monday, Oct. 21 at 9PM on VH1.

MUST SEE: Pebbles Threatens to Sue TLC’s T-Boz and Chili

Who is Pebbles, other than a peripheral character in “CrazySexyCool?” Well, she’s hardly a peripheral character. Born Perri McKissack on Nov. 6, 1996, in Oakland, Calif., Pebbles started out in the ‘80s as a backup singer for Con Funk Shun, a funk group whose “Body Lovers” single she helped write. By 1988, she’d adopted the name Pebbles and dropped her debut album, a self-titled effort that spawned the hits “Girlfriend” and “Mercedes Boy.” The record featured production credits from L.A. Reid, who she married in 1989. If you’d asked, “Who is Pebbles?” at this point in her career, most folks would have said she was the next major pop and R&B superstar, and though her sophomore effort, “Always,” went gold, it didn’t make her a household name.

Who is Pebbles, then, if not a Madonna- or even Paula Abdul-grade singing star? She’s a clever woman. After releasing “Always,” Pebbles, cofounded the label Savvy Records and formed TLC, a trio comprising Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas,” and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Pebbles signed TLC to Pebbitone, her Atlanta-based production company, and oversaw the release of “Oooooohhh… On the TLC Tip” and “CrazySexyCool,” mega-selling albums that produced the smash singles “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” “What About Your Friends,” “Creep,” and “Waterfalls,” among others.

Who is Pebbles? If you ask TLC, she was a bad manager, and after “CrazySexyCool,” the group parted ways with Perri “Pebbles” Reid, blaming her for mismanaging funds and swindling them out of millions. Pebbles later became an ordained minister and issues the gospel disc “Prophetic Flows Vol. I and II,” which made the top 20 on Billboard’s Gospel Album chart.

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So who is Pebbles—a smart, talented child of God or a swindling music exec who owes TLC an apology? Viewers will have to watch “CrazySexyCool: The TLC” story on Monday, Oct. 21, and decide for themselves. “The audience is going to see the hardships that they went through, and how they were able to overcome it and get on that stage every night and just create magic,” Rochelle Aytes told VH1, describing the film that, for the foreseeable future, will define who Pebbles is for a generation of fans.

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.