Freda Charcelia Payne
Nude

Freda Charcelia Payne was born in Detroit, Michigan, the Motor City—and no, it’s not beyond Mr. Skin to admit she gets everyone’s engines revving with her sexy self. She’s probably best known as the lungs behind the 1970 hit single “Band of Gold,” which hit number three in the US, and number one in the UK for six consecutive weeks, sold over two million copies, and went certified gold. Freda also had hits with “Deeper & Deeper,” “You Brought the Joy,” and “Bring the Boys Home.” And while her sister, Scherrie Payne of The Supremes, earned the moniker “the little lady with the big voice,” Freda earned the right to a place here on Skin Central, thanks to her acting debut as Kelly Simms in the movie Book of Numbers (1973), where her bare breasts also made their debut. She’s made appearances as Claudine in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps(2000) with Eddie Murphy and Janet Jackson, playing Lily Potter in Deadly Rhapsody (2001) with Ice-T, and as Mrs. Bernard in Kinky (2018) with Vivica A. Fox. She also hosted her own talk show, Today’s Black Woman, in 1982, and popped up as Ursula in the Netflix series Family Reunion in 2021. Throughout her acting career, Freda also continued her singing career, releasing singles and albums in the categories of pop, jazz, and R&B. In 2017, she was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in her hometown of Detroit. Way to bring it home, Freda. Way to bring it home.