Melanie “Mel B” Brown may be best known for being a member of one of the biggest girl bands of the ’90s, but now she has her own girl band at home.
The Spice Girls singer, who rose to fame as Scary Spice, is a mom to three daughters. She welcomed Phoenix with the dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1999. Angel joined the family in 2007 shortly after Brown’s relationship with Angel’s father, Eddie Murphy. Four years later, Madison was born to Brown and her then-husband Stephen Belafonte.
Growing her family while remaining in the spotlight wasn’t always easy for the ’90s superstar.
“You learn something every day when you’re a mom — especially when you’re a working mom,” Brown told PEOPLE in 2017. “You’re constantly trying to balance work, being a mom, making sure you’re there for the school runs and dinners and [making] home-cooked food.”
The former America’s Got Talent judge explained that her three girls couldn’t be more different personality-wise, but that she wanted to raise them with the same principles.
“All you can give them is love, affection and attention and they go on their merry way,” Brown said. “I hope I’m raising three confident, strong women on the inside who are appreciative, respectful and supportive of other women.”
Here’s everything to know about Mel B’s three children: Phoenix, Angel and Madison.
Phoenix Brown, 25
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Brown and Gulzar welcomed Phoenix on Feb. 19, 1999. The performer’s eldest daughter has a lot of respect for her history as a pop star.
In December 2022, Phoenix recreated some of her mom’s iconic Scary Spice looks. Sharing a photo shoot of herself on Instagram, Phoenix dressed to impress in three of Brown’s fan-favorite looks.
The “Wannabe” singer got a kick out of her daughter’s recreations, sharing her thoughts during a 2024 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Brown joked that she was “so pissed” and “annoyed” at Phoenix for borrowing her outfits.
“So I’m looking on Instagram and she sends me through this flurry of pictures,” she explained to Fallon, adding that when she saw the photos, she thought, “That looks a bit like me.”
However, Brown quickly realized what her daughter was wearing. “She’s got all my bloody outfits on! The bitch stole my look and went into my wardrobe, and I’m like, you better bring all that stuff back right now because they’re my clothes,” she joked.
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As well as twinning with her mom, Phoenix has also joined Brown in the music industry. She is a DJ and has played sets at a variety of major events, including the 2024 BAFTA Awards.
Phoenix and her mom have also starred in modeling campaigns together and attended events as a duo. They are the faces of British fashion brand Pour Moi’s Own Your Confidence campaign and in March 2024, they met Queen Camilla at an event raising awareness for a domestic violence nonprofit.
Angel Iris Murphy Brown, 17
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Brown and her former boyfriend Murphy had their daughter, Angel Iris, on April 3, 2007.
In an interview with OK! magazine a few weeks after her birth, the singer revealed that Angel arrived nine days early — and Brown drove herself to the hospital mid-contractions. “I was by myself but I didn’t want to be dramatic and call an ambulance,” she explained. “So I just got into the car and drove to the hospital.”
Brown also revealed the meaning behind her middle child’s name. “She is my angel, she was my little angel through my pregnancy,” she said. “Iris, as it’s my grandma’s name.” The Telling Lies actress added that she wanted to call her middle child Phoenix every time she looked at her because the two sisters were so similar as babies.
Angel values her independence and is an inventive person, according to her mom. “Angel is very much in her own little world and very creative with the computer and making things and decorating her room,” Brown told PEOPLE in 2017.
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Following Angel’s major school exams in the summer of 2023, Brown bragged about her daughter’s accomplishments. “Art school here you come yipeeeee!!!!!” the proud mom wrote on Instagram alongside clips of their mother-daughter day out.
While Angel inherited the creative gene from her parents, she isn’t particularly phased by her mom’s fame. In a 2024 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Brown admitted that her girls aren’t interested in her hits.
“I don’t think they care that I’m a Spice Girl,” she said, adding that they are often shocked when they hear their mom’s tunes. “[They asked] ‘What kind of music is this Mommy?’ I was like, ‘It’s Spice Girls music that we wrote.’ They were like, ‘Really?’ ” she explained, laughing.
Madison Brown Belafonte, 12
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Brown and her then-husband Belafonte welcomed Madison on Sept. 1, 2011.
In a 2017 interview with PEOPLE, the Kid’s Choice Award winner said that her youngest daughter is the “snuggler” of the trio. “Madison is just stuck by my side,” she said. “Madison will meditate with me and play with all of my crystals, and she’s really sweet.”
While she definitely has a close bond with her mom, Madison isn’t too familiar with the singer’s creative endeavors. In July 2022, Brown revealed that her youngest daughter couldn’t recognize Spice Girls songs. The singer read out the lyrics to the group’s 1997 hit, “Who Do You Think You Are,” in a clip shared on her Instagram Stories but Madison couldn’t name her mom’s megahit.
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She initially guessed that the song was a Lady Gaga tune, before changing her mind and guessing the singer was Adele. “I don’t even know that song,” the youngster eventually admitted.
Madison has appeared alongside her mom on the red carpet but isn’t always fond of the singer’s attire. When she joined her mom at the America’s Got Talent quarterfinals in 2018, she stole the show when she took it upon herself to cover the slit in Brown’s dress.
