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4 May 2023, 13:50
As lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger became one of the global pop music's most recognised stars of the 2000s and beyond.
Here's all you need to know about the American pop star:
Nicole Scherzinger is a singer, actress, and television personality, mostly known for her huge success as the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.
Selling 55 million records worldwide as a member of the group, they've had enormous global hits such as 'Don't Cha', 'Stickwitu', 'Buttons', and 'Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)' which saw them nominated for a Grammy Award.
Nicole Scherzinger has also pursued a solo career in pop music, releasing two studio albums Killer Love (2011) and Big Fat Lie (2014).
Despite her immense commercial success as a pop star, Scherzinger has been a prominent television personality since the dissolution of The Pussycat Dolls in 2010.
Winning Dancing With The Stars in her native USA in 2010 saw her develop a sex symbol status, which led to more appearances as a judge on The X Factor here in the UK and more recently The Masked Singer.
Away from pop stardom Nicole Scherzinger has also carved out a career in film and musicals, featuring in animated Disney film Moana and Cats, the latter of which saw her achieve a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.
Nicole Scherzinger was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on 29th June 1978. She celebrated her 44th birthday in 2022.
Her father Alfonso Valiente left her mother Rosemary Elikolani Frederick when Nicole was only two years of age. Her mother then married German-American Gary Scherzinger who eventually adopted Nicole and moved the family to Louisville, Kentucky at the age of six.
She was raised with strong conservative and religious beliefs as her grandfather was a priest.
Pursuing a career in performing arts since the age of 14, Nicole Scherzinger appeared on Popstars USA in 2000 which led to a short-lived and unsuccessful stint as part of the girl group Eden's Crush.
After declining an offer from Will.I.Am to join Black Eyed Peas in 2002 after Eden's Crush collapsed, he recommended Scherzinger to music mogul and record producer Jimmy Iovine.
Iovine recruited her to The Pussycat Dolls - a spin-off from the Los Angeles burlesque troupe - after a successful audition, where she would shine as the lead singer and become the only member of the group to have songwriting credits on their debut album PCD.
The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha (Official Music Video) ft. Busta Rhymes
- 'Don't Cha'
- 'Stickwitu'
- 'Buttons'
- 'Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)'
- 'Come To Me'
- 'Right There'
- 'When I Grow Up'
- 'I Hate This Part'
- 'Bleep'
- 'I Don't Need A Man'
Since 2020, Nicole Scherzinger has been in a relationship with former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans.
Before that, she was in a high-profile, on-off relationship with Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton, and was previously engaged to American musician Nick Hexum from 2000 to 2004.
The Pussycat Dolls - React
Nicole Scherzinger is thought to be around 5 feet, 5 inches tall.
The Pussycat Dolls - Buttons (Official Music Video) ft. Snoop Dogg
Nicole Scherzinger's net worth is an estimated $14 million.
A.R. Rahman, The Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny) ft. Nicole Scherzinger
Some of Nicole Scherzinger's all-time favourite songs are 'I Think We're Alone Now' by Tiffany and 'Toy Soldiers" by Martika, but she admits that Whitney Houston's 'The Greatest Love Of All' was the song that inspired her to be a musician.
She wishes she wrote John Lennon's iconic song 'Imagine', saying that "it just answers so much. It's a legendary song, it was revolutionary, and it's timeless."
Despite her conservative upbringing, Nicole Scherzinger has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights, praising the community for "standing strong against adversity and [for being] a community that unites for change."