Rappin' Granny

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Rappin' Granny
Rappin' Granny on America's Got Talent
Background information
Birth name	Vivian Smallwood
Born	1933
Origin	Castaic, California, USA
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Musician Actor
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1995–present

Vivian Smallwood (born 1933), known by her stage name Rappin' Granny, is a grandmother who performs hip-hop music. She lives in Castaic, California, near Los Angeles.

Smallwood was a contestant on the NBC television series America's Got Talent who qualified August 16, 2006 season finale for the one-million-dollar grand prize.

In 1989 she released a little-known, self-titled music video. The video can be seen here. [1]

Smallwood has been a working Hollywood actress since the mid '90s. She has appeared in numerous television shows with small parts and a few feature films. Some of her credits include, Everybody Hates Chris, Malcolm in the Middle, The Shield, and The Ladykillers. In "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" (1996) she is even credited as Vivian 'Rappin Granny' Smallwood. [2] Also to her credit, she has played "Nano", in Big Bad Beetleborgs, a children's show on the former Fox Kids network.

According to an interview that aired on America's Got Talent, Smallwood began rapping at the insistence of her son, who noticed her dancing across the room while hip-hop music was playing in the background. After a number of private performances in front of family members, Smallwood auditioned for the new talent contest co-created by famous music executive Simon Cowell.

In her audition, Rappin' Granny gave a performance that was very popular among the crowd and the judges, all of whom (Brandy, David Hasselhoff, and Piers Morgan) advanced her to the next round by way of an unanimous vote.

Smallwood then returned for the semifinal episode that aired July 26, 2006. After another crowd-pleasing song, the judges again put her through to the next round, by another unanimous vote.

However, the final round was not kind to Smallwood; not only did she not win the million-dollar prize, she finished in the bottom half of the public vote that determined the winner, as announced by host Regis Philbin.

Smallwood has 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Another elderly woman who frequents Howard Stern has claimed the title of "Rapping Granny" since the mid-'80s.