Next to her recording career, Evans is widely known as the widow of New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G., whom she married on August 4, 1994, after meeting at a Bad Boy photoshoot. The turbulent marriage led to Evans' involvement in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, dominating the rap music scene at the time, and ended with Wallace's murder in a yet-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California in March 1997. A 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and 112, entitled "I'll Be Missing You" became Evans' biggest-selling hit to date and won her a Grammy Award in 1998.

Also an avocational actress and writer, Evans made her big screen debut in the 2000 musical drama "Turn It Up" by Robert Adetuyi. Her self-written autobiography "Keep the Faith: A Memoir" was released by Grand Central Publishing in 2008 and won a 2009 African American Literary Award for the Best Biography/Memoir category.