Aubrey O’Day

Under the tutelage of hip-hop impresario Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Aubrey O'Day propelled herself to the top of the charts as the breakout star of the singing group Danity Kane. She was born Aubrey Morgan O'Day on Feb. 11, 1984 in San Francisco, CA and began performing at the age of four. Among her early acting roles, mostly in local stage productions, was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" and Sandy in "Grease."

After graduating in 2001 from La Quinta High School in La Quinta, CA, O'Day majored in political science and drama at the University of California - Irvine. The aspiring entertainer's life changed when she was handpicked by Combs to appear on MTV's "Making the Band 3" (2005-06), a reality series that followed the rap entrepreneur as he assembled a female singing group. Out of thousands who auditioned, O'Day was one of five young women who made the cut.

Alongside fellow winners Dawn Richard, Wanita 'D Woods' Woodgett, Shannon Bex, and Aundrea Fimbres, O'Day launched her music career as a member of the pop/R&B group, Danity Kane.

Signed to Combs' Bad Boy Records, Danity Kane released its self-titled debut album in 2006. With the help of the girls' appearance on "Making the Band 3," the album landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart upon release and spawned two Top 10 singles: "Show Stopper" and "Ride for You." Issues with management and tensions between the band members and Combs prevented a third single from being released. They managed to release a second album in early 2008 titled Welcome to the Dollhouse, which yielded the hit single "Damaged."

Danity Kane's behind-the-scenes drama, however, made for entertaining television. The perky and curvaceous O'Day, backed by her powerful singing ability, became the group's breakout star, but her growing ego often conflicted with her mentor's direction. On a 2008 episode of "Making the Band 4" (MTV, 2007-09), Combs announced O'Day (and D Woods) were no longer members of Danity Kane. The group disbanded the following year.

O'Day stretched her 15 minutes of fame by returning to her theater roots and joining the cast of Broadway's "Hairspray" (2002) as the bratty Amber Von Tussle. In an effort to further distance herself from her Danity days, O'Day graced the cover of Playboy magazine in 2009. She attempted a solo music career and documented it on her own reality series "All About Audrey" (Oxygen, 2011). Already familiar with being famously "fired," O'Day was a perfect choice to compete on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC, 2004- ), joining a cast that included singers Clay Aiken and Deborah Gibson, and comedian Adam Carolla.

By Candy Cuenco