Sky Ferreira

SKY Tonia Ferreira (born July 8, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actress.

SKY Tonia Ferreira was born on July 8, 1992, in Venice, Los Angeles.

Ferreira's heritage is Native American, Brazilian and Portuguese.

Ferreira was largely raised by her grandmother, who had been Michael Jackson's personal hairstylist for over 30 years.

She commented, saying: "I was raised around him, I always saw him [and] had holidays with him and stuff like that", adding that she was unaware of his fame until she was 13 years old.

Ferreira expressed interest in singing as a child and, with Jackson's encouragement, Ferreira's grandmother enrolled her in opera lessons.

Ferreira has stated that she was sexually assaulted in her adolescence twice, firstly involving a neighbor, and secondly in an incident that involved a stranger who had broken into her home.

In an interview with Rookie, Ferreira said: "I've never said anything [about this publicly] because I don't want it to define me, but I feel like it's appropriate to say something [here]. People feel like it defines you, and it doesn't. It's really unfortunate and disgusting and traumatizing, but it doesn't make you who you are."

Ferreira dropped out of high school after completing her sophomore year.

Ferreira began maintaining a Myspace profile where she uploaded demo versions of self-written tracks.

As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodshy & Avant and a recording contract with Parlophone in 2009.

In 2009, she was signed to Parlophone, and began finalizing the debut studio album that she says was first begun when she was 14 years old.

In 2010, she ventured into the film and modelling industries after starring in the independent film Putty Hill and appearing in the magazines Dazed and Interview.

She released her first extended play, As If!, in 2011, which combined elements of electropop and dance music.

After releasing the tracks "17" and "One", the latter having peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart, Ferreira announced that her debut studio album would be released on January 11, 2011.

Its lead single "Obsession" peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

These plans never came to fruition, and were substituted for the extended play (EP) As If! and its lead single "Sex Rules" that March.

A writer for MuuMuse spoke favorably of her "vocal and musical versatility" and commended the project as a "rock solid 5-track collection of next-level crunchy pop cuts."

During this time, Ferreira was featured in the advertising campaign for the Calvin Klein "CK One" product line alongside Cassie Ventura.

The following year, she was photographed by Ellen von Unwerth for the cover of Vs., and appeared in the Adidas "Originals" commercial with rappers Big Sean and Snoop Dogg.

In November 2011, Ferreira announced that her debut studio album would be released in 2012, with a lead single planned to precede its release that February.

She was later revealed to have been working with Jon Brion, Greg Kurstin, and Shirley Manson on the project.

Ferreira's second EP Ghost (2012), however, incorporated pop with more stripped-down song structures and featured collaborations with Jon Brion and Shirley Manson, as well as the critically acclaimed track "Everything Is Embarrassing", which she composed with Dev Hynes.

In early 2012, Ferreira revealed Wild at Heart as the title of her record, and confirmed "24 Hours" and "Swamp Girl" for its track listing.

"Lost in My Bedroom", described by Ferreira as "the most electro pop [song] on the album", surfaced online that March.

After releasing the music video for the track "Red Lips" in June, she stated that she renamed the record I'm Not Alright.

With her debut studio album still unreleased, Ferreira announced that her second extended play Ghost would be released in October.

It respectively peaked at numbers 8 and 71 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers and Alternative Albums component charts to the Billboard 200.

Its second single "Everything Is Embarrassing" was described by Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork as the track where Ferreira "could well have her breakout moment", complimenting it for beginning with "snappy, crisply sung dance-pop about long-awaited moments" and eventually transitioning into "what should be a buoyant chorus".

After multiple delays and disputes with her record label, Ferreira's debut studio album Night Time, My Time was released in October 2013, preceded by the lead single "You're Not the One", and marked a departure from her former style, incorporating more experimental indie rock with synth-pop elements.

The album received critical acclaim.

That year, she ventured into acting with her debut appearance in Eli Roth's The Green Inferno.

In her debut television performance, Ferreira performed the track on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in January 2013.

The previously leaked track "Lost in My Bedroom" was included on Ghost, and was featured on an episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy in December.

In June 2013, Ferreira starred in the short film IRL playing Angel, which has been described as "an eye-opening look into the reality of young life in New York".

Shortly before her 15th birthday, she wrote a letter to producers Bloodshy & Avant requesting that they offer a recording contract to her, which she says happened "kind of right off the bat" after they came across her profile.

While appearing in films and other projects, she released "Downhill Lullaby" and "Don't Forget" as singles from her upcoming second studio album Masochism in March 2019 and May 2022, respectively.

Ferreira's earlier work incorporated elements of dance-pop, while her recent projects experiment with acoustic, new wave and primarily indie rock musical styles.

Her lyrical content originally incorporated themes of rebellion and teenage romance, and has since evolved to discuss personal insecurities and more mature romantic themes.

Outside her work in the entertainment industry, she has worked as a fashion model.