Cassie (Casandra Ventura) was born on August 26, 1986 in New London, Connecticut, is an American R&B and pop singer, model, and actress.

She is best known for her 2005 single "Me & U", which became a hit in 2006. Cassie is trilingual, being fluent in English and conversational in Tagalog and Spanish.

When she completed high school in 2004, she announced that she was going to pursue her career in modeling and music, foregoing college.

In New York Cassie was modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch Wilhelmina Models, and taking classes at the Broadway Dance Center. Producer Ryan Leslie began spotting her at club parties in late 2004, later saying he was charmed by her personality.

Shortly after a formal introduction to music producer Ryan Leslie, Cassie became the focus of Next Selection. The two wrote a duet called "Kiss Me". And after recording, Next Selection made a management move and played the track for Tommy Mottola, who is a known expert of Modeling.

Cassie inked a deal with Leslie's NextSelection label in the early 21st Century. Leslie also co-wrote and produced Ventura's first single, "Me & U", in 2005. By March 2006, Cassie had found the interests of Entertainment Specialist Diddy and Bad Boy Records.

On its release, "Me & U" proved to be a massive hit, particularily in the U.S. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Billboard Pop 100, and number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.