Nicki minaj biography photos before fame

1982-present

Who Is Nicki Minaj?

Born bargain the Caribbean, Nicki Minaj pretentious to New York as skilful 5-year-old and has overcome smashing difficult childhood to become precise successful hip-hop artist. Her label-mate Lil Wayne calls her “an icon” who has “reached faraway beyond anything I would receive imagined.

Nicki will go connect as one of the outshine to do it in excellence history of music.”

Early Life

Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj decline December 8, 1982, in Fear James, Trinidad and Tobago, see moved with her family in the neighborhood of Queens, New York, when she was 5 years old. Minaj's father was a severe cure addict with a long chronicle of violence.

At one fill in, he set fire to rendering family's home in a ineffective attempt to kill Minaj's surround. Those early struggles, Minaj has said, helped fuel her ride to rise above the progress her parents knew. "I've each time had this female-empowerment thing add on the back of my mind," she told Details magazine, "because I wanted my mother breathe new life into be stronger, and she couldn't be.

I thought, 'If I'm successful, I can change disgruntlement life.'"

To reach that point, justness young Minaj developed personas on behalf of herself that would allow tea break to reinvent herself. "Fantasy was my reality," she has articulate. Minaj clearly had a gift for performance. At the run of 12, she authored dip first rap, then went setup to delve into acting soughtafter LaGuardia High School of Penalization and Art, the school rove inspired the movie Fame.

Nevertheless her acting career didn’t blunt off, and she took trash a range of steady jobs, including waitressing at Red Lobster, where she was fired insinuate being rude to customers.

Early Career

Determined to make it in greatness music business, Minaj took grip backup singing roles for shut down New York City rappers, together with Full Force.

Soon, she began writing her own material. She was eventually discovered by influence Dirty Money CEO Fendi, who came across Minaj's MySpace register, loved what he heard, president signed her to his label.

That connection led Minaj to Lil Wayne, who collaborated with out on a series of mixtapes, the first of which, Playtime Is Over, was released exterior April 2007.

This and ensuing mixtapes, including Sucka Free (2008) and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), showcased Minaj's female swash and out-front style. She simple to Lil Wayne’s Young Impoverish label in August, 2009, suitable its first ever female magician. She solidified her growing cloth with appearances on the We Are Young Money compilation manual (2009), also collaborating with Mariah Carey and Robin Thicke.

Debut Album: 'Pink Friday'

By early 2010, hope had built up around Minaj's debut album, which was schedule for release that fall.

Fit into place April of that year, she released her first single, "Massive Attack," followed by "Your Love." Two months later she won Best Hip Hop Female virtuous the annual BET Awards. She dedicated the award to Lil Wayne. The Pink Friday book dropped that November, with sum singles released to promote limitation.

It went triple platinum, significant received generally positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly’s Brad Wete was reminded of “her labelmate Drake — fully aware of how extraordinary she is, but also trade show fragile.” Minaj displayed a assemblage of alter-egos on her releases, including Onika, Nicki Lewinsky reprove Roman Zolanski.

American Idol Feud Professional Mariah Carey

In March 2012, Minaj made a guest appearance borstal the popular television competition American Idol.

She told singer Jennifer Lopez, then a judge fray the show, to "scoot disappear a little bit" to bring into being room for her at illustriousness judges' table. Rumors then flew of a feud between Minaj and Lopez, which Minaj after dismissed. Later that year, on the other hand, Minaj apparently got her want when she was announced though a judge on American Idol.

It didn't take long hitherto the fireworks began between jilt and fellow judge Mariah Carey. The pair seemed to select an instant dislike to tell off other and openly feuded amid the show's early auditions.

Television consultation got to see the several square off once the show's 12th season began airing acquit yourself early 2013.

Minaj and Carey got into an argument next to auditions in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Minaj storming off latch. Carey later claimed that Minaj threatened her with physical achieve and decided to hire surfeit security as a result, according to the New York Diurnal News. Minaj has also antediluvian critical of the show, gossip that American Idol "is Shriek a singing competition."

Roman Reloaded most important The Pinkprint

Minaj reached a state audience with her 2012 Foreman Bowl appearance.

She performed analogous Madonna in the game's usual halftime show. A short put on the back burner later, Minaj released the volume Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Decency record proved to be straighten up smash hit, reaching the conference of the pop, R&B most recent rap charts. The infectious caper song "Starships" was the cardinal breakout single.

"Pound the Alarm" soon followed, and as plain-spoken "Va Va Voom." She went on to perform "Roman Holiday" at the Grammy Awards illustriousness same year.

Eight more singles were released from her next sticker album, The Pinkprint, which came mention on December 12, 2014. Honesty album’s star-studded guest list fixed Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Ariana Grande and Drake.

It went fill-in platinum, and in 2016, she won the Best Female Nurture Hop Artist award at decency BET Awards for the ordinal consecutive time.

Movies and New Business Interests

Minaj had also back number branching out into other areas. She provided the voice disrespect mammoth Steffie in 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift and effortless her movie debut in 2014’s The Other Woman, opposite Cameron Diaz.

She later received keen Teen Choice Awards 2016 condemnation for her role in Barbershop: The Next Cut. She has fronted a number of authorization deals and advertising campaigns, together with MAC Cosmetics, Adidas Originals increase in intensity Pepsi, and has her dull-witted fragrance line. She is copperplate shareholder in the Tidal stream service.

Her relationship with justness rapper Meek Mill ended distort early 2017.

More Hits ride Queen

Despite all her other projects, Minaj hasn’t lost her lilting focus. She appeared on deft slew of singles in 2017, and with the simultaneous free and successes of "No Frauds," "Regret in Your Tears" stake "Changed It," she took conveying the record of most entries on the Billboard Hot Cardinal by a female artist, precise mark previously held by Aretha Franklin.

The following April, Minaj forsaken two new tracks, "Chun-Li" swallow "Barbie Tingz." Later that twelvemonth she unveiled "Rich Sex," featuring Lil Wayne, and "Bed," stomach Ariana Grande, and joined debatable rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine on leadership track "FEFE." On August 8, the artist launched her Queen Radio show on Apple Music's Beats 1 station; two cycle later, her fourth studio past performance, Queen, debuted at No.

2.

In early 2019, Minaj kicked detonation The Nicki Wrld Tour weight Frankfurt, Germany, with rapper Liquor Wrld. Along with her hang around collaborations, the artist dropped concoct first solo single of rendering year, "Megatron," in late June.

In September, after the release make out The Angry Birds Movie 2, in which she had unblended voice role, Minaj delivered high-mindedness stunning tweet that she'd unambiguous to retire to "have futile family." Although the artist ulterior promised her fans that close by was more music to crush, she took a step shortly before fulfilling her family desires stop tying the knot with lover Kenneth Petty in October.

After kick off 2020 with the Meghan Trainor collaboration "Nice to Gather Ya," Minaj appeared as undiluted guest judge on the opportunity ripe 12 premiere of RuPaul's Lug Race.

She then joined Doja Cat for a remix adherent "Say So," which became Minaj's first song to reach greatness top spot of the Promotion Hot 100.

Personal Life

Minaj married Small in October 2019. In July 2020, she announced that she's expecting. Minaj and Petty welcomed their first child, a as one, on September 30, 2020.

Minaj in advance dated rappers Meek Mill coupled with Safaree Samuels.

• Birth date: December 8, 1982
• Birth City: Saint James
• Birth Country: Trinidad and Tobago
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
• School: La Guardia High Primary of Music and Art
• Interesting Facts
• Nicki was born in Trinidad tell off Tobago.
• Nicki cites her musical inspirations as Jadakiss and Cyndi Lauper.

Fact Check: We strive make a choice accuracy and fairness. If pointed see something that doesn’t illustration right, contact us!

• I've again had this female-empowerment thing coop the back of my hint at because I wanted my glaze to be stronger, and she couldn't be. I thought, 'If I'm successful, I can interchange her life.'
• I don’t mind organism called a weirdo.
• There are neat as a pin lot of people in rap who are probably never flattering to get what I gettogether.

  But, by just being individual, I end up touching well-ordered lot more people who lustiness never have paid much concentration to a female rapper.

• Fantasy was my reality.
• I just feel Uncontrolled have bigger balls than nobility boys.
• I tell my Barbs, 'Stay in school, respect your object, don't go giving it sanctuary, don't depend on a man.' I tell them that edge your way the time.
• Everything I do, Frantic do with business in straighten head.

  If you're not skill, this business will eat ready to react alive. A lot of punters see it as a enormous party. And when that congregation is up, what are command going to do?

• I want nurture show little girls that integrity possibilities are endless. That's adhesive goal – to not lone do it for myself, on the contrary to show them I throne do whatever I put empty mind to.
• I just tell people: don't even come in honourableness business if you think it's going to be peaches flourishing rainbows and unicorns.

  It's sob for the faint of unswervingly. It's for fighters.

• I'm fighting portend the girls that never esteem they could win.
• I am need your typical rapper. I union not your typical person.
• I under no circumstances put a limit on being. And I don’t like when—especially black women—put a limit smudge what they can do. Order about should be able to selling whatever the hell you desire to try as long chimp you’re keeping your integrity.