Brandy and her daughter, Sy’Rai Smith, are sharing the screen for the first time, playing sisters in Lifetime’s new holiday film, “Christmas Everyday,” which also marks Sy’Rai’s acting debut. For Brandy, the role adds to a storied career that includes her iconic turn as “Cinderella” in the 1997 Rodgers & Hammerstein remake, her breakout lead role on “Moesha,” and memorable performances in “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Queens.”
Smith said having her mom, Brandy, by her side made her feel at ease.
“It was really comforting having my mom there and guiding me, because this is my first acting role. So it was amazing. It was so fun. And, yeah, I loved every moment of it,” Smith told our entertainment reporter Courtney Tezeno. “I hope everybody does enjoy it and watch it. And me and my mom, obviously, we have the mother-daughter dynamic, but that is my best friend, so it’s easy to play her sister.”
In “Christmas Everyday,” Smith plays Belle, a bridezilla, baby sister to Norwood’s character Francine “Fancy” Ballantine, an ambitious fashion designer juggling family and career. Smith described her character as chaotic and “shady,” which brought out lines she normally wouldn’t say to her mom in real life.
“She’s a little brat,” Smith laughed. “But no, Belle really loves her sister. Sometimes it just, you know, goes out of her mind that there’s other people in this world other than her. But yeah, I hope everybody loves her.”
Executive producer Dr. Holly Carter also brought family to the set, with her real-life daughter, Journey Carter, joining the cast. Dr. Carter said the project arrived at the ideal moment for her and Brandy to finally team up creatively.
“It’s a family movie. It’s a positive movie. She wanted to do something we’ve been trying to work together for a really long time, and this was the best opportunity.”
Journey Carter, who portrays Tia, shared that the energy behind the scenes was just as “joy-filled” as what audiences will see onscreen. She vividly remembered the excitement of working with the “Full Moon” icon.
“I was like, wow, this is Brandy… It was friendly, it was comfortable. I had a great time with her. I love it.”
Journey said witnessing Brandy and Sy’Rai’s natural connection was another highlight of filming. “It was amazing seeing mothers and daughters coming together to work together. It just felt really good. It was heartwarming.”
Brandy’s keeping busy beyond her holiday film, too. Before her “The Boy Is Mine” tour, she surprised fans with a cameo in the “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reboot. Jennifer Love Hewitt told us at the ABC Summer Soirée in L.A. that working together again felt instantly familiar.
“We both felt like we were teenagers again,” Hewitt said in September. “It was such a sweet moment. We worked all night, and keeping it a secret was actually kind of fun.”
RELATED: Brandy’s daughter Sy’Rai Smith teases joint album as they star in “Christmas Everyday”
“Christmas Everyday” features Sy’Rai and Brandy’s “Christmas Gift” song, previously released in 2023, but her daughter is ready to get back in the studio soon. The 23-year-old singer revealed she has unreleased tracks and even floated the idea of another joint project with Brandy.
“Listen, it’s coming. We still cooking the lasagna,” Smith teased. “It’s coming, I promise y’all, but yeah, I would love to do. I would love to do a full album with mom, too. So, everything’s in the works. I’m excited.”
“Christmas Everyday” premieres November 29 at 8 pm on Lifetime.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source thenationaldesk.com ’
