Nicole Scherzinger (born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente on June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality.
Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Alfonso Valiente of Filipino descent and Rosemary Elikolani Frederick of Native Hawaiian and Ukrainian descent.
Alfonso left the family when Nicole was two years old.
Rosemary then married German-American Gary Scherzinger, who adopted Nicole, and whose surname she eventually took.
She has a younger sister, Keala.
At age six, they moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her mother was a clerk, and her step-father was a welder.
Scherzinger describes her upbringing as difficult as she grew up "without much money" and supported her parents by being a waitress, taking local modelling jobs, and being part of an entertainment troupe of the local amusement park, Kentucky Kingdom.
With her grandfather a priest, Scherzinger was raised as Roman Catholic and considered herself conservative with "really strong religious beliefs" and would go to church twice a week in order to make her mother proud.
At the age of 14, she joined Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she was cast in her first professional play, La Bête.
1996
She graduated in 1996 from the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) at duPont Manual High School, where she participated in many plays, including Alice in Wonderland, in which she portrayed Alice.
Scherzinger was surprised she got the part as she was up "against a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair."
2001
In 2001, Scherzinger's mother saw a commercial for the WB's show Popstars USA, a reality series with the aim to chronicle a music group's formation until the recording of their debut album.
Warner Bros. imprint London-Sire Records signed the group to a recording contract before the band was named and had finalized its membership, due to the hours of network television exposure the group would receive.
Initially reluctant to audition, Scherzinger later opted otherwise as she saw it as an opportunity to travel to Los Angeles.
For her audition she sang Whitney Houston's version of Dolly Parton's song "I Will Always Love You" and alongside Ana Maria Lombo, Maile Misajon, Ivette Sosa, and Rosanna Tavarez, established the girl group Eden's Crush.
Their debut single, "Get Over Yourself", was released in March 2001 and debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the first female act to debut at number one on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart.
Their debut studio album, Popstars (2001), debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart.
2003
She is a former member of the pop group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021).
With over 55 million records sold worldwide, The Pussycat Dolls are one of the world's best-selling female groups of all time.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Scherzinger began acting at the age of 14 and studied musical theatre at Wright State University.
Aspiring to pursue a career in music, Scherzinger dropped out of college and toured with the American rock band Days of the New before finding modest success with Eden's Crush, a girl group created through The WB's Popstars.
After taking on some minor acting roles, Scherzinger became the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls.
2007
In 2007, she was inducted to DuPont Manual Alumni's Hall of Fame as one of the youngest inductees.
2010
The prominence of her role in the group was a point of contention within it and eventually contributed to its dissolution in 2010.
Scherzinger has carved out a successful career outside the group.
Scherzinger also ventured into television, winning Dancing with the Stars in 2010, and serving as a judge on several other television talent shows, including The Sing-Off (2009–2010), The X Factor US (2011), The X Factor UK (2012–2013, 2016–2017, 2019), and Australia's Got Talent (2019).
2011
She shelved her first attempt with her debut album, Her Name is Nicole, but went on to release two studio albums (Killer Love in 2011 and Big Fat Lie in 2014) that were moderately successful.
(Killer Love includes the hit singles "Poison", "Right There", and "Don't Hold Your Breath".)
2013
Since 2013, Scherzinger has endowed YPAS with a yearly $2,000, namesake scholarship.
After earning a scholarship, she attended Wright State University and majored in theatre arts with a dance minor.
During this period, Scherzinger garnered the lead roles in regional productions of the musicals Chicago, Guys and Dolls, and Show Boat.
In her final year of college, Scherzinger was hired by Days of the New band leader Travis Meeks to contribute vocals on their self-titled second studio album.
Meeks sought out a singer who could "deliver some more world/operatic textures and sounds."
The album's supporting tour followed, which led Scherzinger to drop out of college.
Towards the tour's conclusion, Meeks stated that the two grew apart creatively, claiming she "didn't seem to understand music very well" but noted she is an "amazing entertainer."
2014
Other work during this period includes her West End debut in the 2014 revival of the musical Cats, as well as roles in the Disney animated film Moana (2016), the television film Dirty Dancing (2017), and the television special Annie Live! (2021).
2018
In 2018, Scherzinger received the 2017 Alumna of the Year Award from the Wright State Alumni Association.
2019
In 2019, Scherzinger began appearing as a panelist on The Masked Singer and briefly reunited with the Pussycat Dolls for a planned 2020 tour.
During her career, Scherzinger has received nominations for a Grammy and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Her other ventures include clothing lines and a fragrance, as well as serving as an ambassador for the Special Olympics and as a supporter of UNICEF UK.
