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Cassandra Ventura, known by her stage name Cassie, is an American model, R&B/pop singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and occasional music video vixen. She is best known for her single "Me & U", which became a hit in 2006.

Cassie was born in New London, Connecticut, to a Filipino father and a African American mother. She graduated from The Williams School, a preparatory school in New London, Connecticut. When she completed high school in 2004, she announced that she would pursue her career in modeling and singing, foregoing college.

At age twelve, Cassie began her career as a model. Represented by Wilhelmina Models, she appeared in print ads for Delia's, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Seventeen and appeared in a commercial for Clean and Clear, in a swimsuit spread. Cassie is also a spokesmodel for the Sean John women's collection, along with Lauren London She is also signed to 1/One Management in New York City.

After high school, she moved to New York City and continued modelling, as well as attending classes at the Broadway Dance Center. Meanwhile, music producer Ryan Leslie spotted her at clubs and parties in late 2004 frequently. Shortly after a formal introduction to Ryan Leslie, Cassie became the focus of NextSelection. The two wrote a duet called "Kiss Me" and after recording the track, Next Selection made a management move to play the song for music executive Tommy Mottola. Leslie also co-wrote and produced Cassie's first single, "Me & U". Cassie was introduced to Sean "Diddy" Combs which helped her to get a shot at a music career.

Before signing with Bad Boy, Cassie's first single, "Me & U", had already hit the airwaves and was a major hit in dance clubs. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard Pop 100. Her follow up single, "Long Way 2 Go" was far less successful, peaking at ninety-seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Cassie's debut album, Cassie, was released on August 8, 2006 and sold 321,000 copies in the U.S.. In contrast to her album sales, Cassie's hit single, "Me & U", sold over 1 million digital downloads.

MTV News reported in June 2007 that contrary to rumors, Cassie had not been dropped from Bad Boy Records after only releasing two singles from her album, and would be working with producers Kanye Westand Pharrell Williamson her second album. The first single from the album, "Official Girl", has a video and digital release with rapper, Lil Wayneon August 5, 2008 and was released to radio on September 16th, 2008.

In February 2008 Cassie made her Acting debut as Sophie Donavon in the sequel to the 2006 Drama/Dance film Step Up titled Step Up 2 the Streets. The film received mixed reviews but became a box office success grossing in $144,045,198 worldwide. Cassie also recorded Is It You? for the soundtrack which included a Music Video and released as an official single that reached outside the top 100 on the U.K. charts.