Stephanie Benson

Early life

Stephanie was born and raised in Ghana to wealthy, royal parents; a pharmaceutical millionaire and his fourth wife named Queen Nana Boahemah II who had seventeen children. Her music career began at the very tender age of three when she started learning how to play the piano and later added on the violin and cello when she was enrolled at the National Academy of Music at the age of eight. Stephanie took on the interest to play the piano from his father as she often him play at night before bedtimes. Following her father's death when she was only fourteen, she moved to London, United Kingdom to explore life in a different part of the world. During her stay in London, she channeled her energy to playing the piano under the watchful eye of her uncle and later got a residency singing and playing in one of the famous nightclubs in London.

Stephanie later launched her career unto the commercial stage as she worked as a vocalist for some international acts such as: Andy Hill (Bucks Fizz), Terry Britton (Tina Turner) Danny Schogger (Celine Dion), Wayne Vaughn (Earth Wind and Fire), Rob Davis (Kylie Minogue) and ((Stevie Wonder)) among others.

Career

During one of Stephanie's usual shows in the London nightclub, she was spotted by Pete Waterman, owner of PWL who was astonished by her performance and offered her a contract with his label; a deal that led her to record and release her first single 'Now is the Time,' placing her in the top 20 on UK dance charts. Following this feat, Stephanie began a promotional tour across [[Europe]] until her contract with PWL came to an end. Thence, she started writing and collaborating with some well known artists including: Stevie Wonder, Wayne Vaughn (Earth Wind and Fire), Rob Davis (Kylie Minogue), Terry Britton (Tina Turner), Andy Hill (Bucks Fizz) and Danny Schogger (Celine Dion). Since taking on music commercially, she has publicly and at private events entertained celebrities and important personalities including the British Royal household and Prince Charles who said to her upon hearing her sing the first time "You are one of the most amazing performers I've ever seen."

Social activity

In a bid to groom potential stars of Ghanaian talent in all fields of the industry, Stephanie in April 2013 announced the establishment of a music school named the Benson Entertainment Production Institute (BEPI) in Accra. BEPI is intended to promote professional international standards relating to stage performances and rehearsals, theatre shows, TV shows and musical concerts, training as well as to serve commercial purposes. The first performance of students from BEPI was in 2014 at +233 Jazz Bar and Grill, Accra.

Surviving Breast Cancer

In 2015, Stephanie underwent surgery for breast cancer, a situation she described as shocking when she was diagnosed of it, revealing that she lost her grandmother, mother and a few family relatives through the disease. Following her survival, the Ghanaian musician trained to do a mountain walk in France on September 1, 2016 with the Dutch 'Singing for your Life' team to raise funds towards towards a cancer research and mobile mammogram for Ghana, and support for the Dutch Cancer Society. Benson has publicly talked about surviving breast cancer after undergoing a total of 28 hours of surgery within three days. On March 19, 2016, at Labadi Beach Hotel's Omanye Hall in Accra, she held a women's gathering centered on her fight against breast cancer with the aim to encourage and strengthen women amidst music and words of exhortation. She went on to release her song titled Dear Lord at this event which was attended by notable women including Nana Ama McBrown, Michelle McKinney-Hammond as well as singers [[Akosua Agyapong]], Irene Logan, Yaa Yaa and Becca.

Personal life

Stephanie is related to Ghanaian gospel singer, Akosua Agyapong. She is married to John and together they own a chocolate shop located in The Pantiles, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Performances for the British Royal Household

Benson has performed at events hosted by the British royals including Princess Anne and reportedly exceeded her 15-minute allotted performance time for Prince Charles to approximately an hour because he enjoyed her act.

She received another invitation to sing for Prince William before his wedding to Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011.

Accident

On April 22, 2014 Benson was involved in a car accident in which her vehicle was turned upside down and burnt up in flames. She however, announced that she was "recovering nicely" except that she had lost some personal possessions. Following this, she released a gospel single titled “My Prayer” from her pending album as a way of showing appreciation and gratitude to God for HIS mercies and for saving her from the fatal accident which occurred on the Spintex road.

Controversies

Stephanie has been widely criticized by the Ghanaian public for wearing revealing attires.

Discography

Since moving back to Ghana, Stephanie has released a number of albums including: Different Kind of Heaven, What are you doing with your life and Friend all in 2015 as well as Dear Lord and I am worth it in 2016.