Nicole Scherzinger: Biography

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Nicole Scherzinger.Image via Wikimedia Commons

Who Is Nicole Scherzinger?

Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( SHUR-zing-ər; née Valiente; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and television personality. She is the lead singer of the R&B and pop group the Pussycat Dolls, 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. In pursuit of a musical career, Scherzinger accepted an offer to sing background vocals to American rock band Days of the New's second self-titled album and its supporting tour. She later found mild success with Eden's Crush, a girl group created through The WB's television talent competition Popstars. Scherzinger pursued further acting and music opportunities, before gaining international recognition as the lead singer of the girl group the Pussycat Dolls, which released two albums and sold over 55 million records worldwide. Following the group's initial disbandment, Scherzinger pursued a solo career, releasing the albums Killer Love (2011) and Big Fat Lie (2014).

Scherzinger has served as a judge on television talent shows, including The Sing-Off (2009–2010), The X Factor USA (2011), The X Factor UK (2012–2013, 2016–2017), Australia's Got Talent (2019), and The Masked Singer US (2019–2023). In 2010, she competed on the television dancing competition Dancing with the Stars, in which she won. Other work during this period includes her theatrical roles in Cats (2014) and Sunset Boulevard (2023–2025), as well as roles in the Disney animated film Moana (2016), the ABC film Dirty Dancing (2017), and the NBC special Annie Live! (2021).

Early Life: Where Is Nicole Scherzinger From?

During her career, Scherzinger has received nominations for a Grammy, two Laurence Olivier Awards and a Tony Award. She won the 2024 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Norma Desmond in the 2023 West End revival of Sunset Boulevard and received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2025 when the show transferred to Broadway in 2024. Her other ventures include clothing lines; a fragrance; and serving as an ambassador for the Special Olympics and as a supporter of UNICEF UK.

Early life

Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Alfonso Valiente and Rosemary Elikolani. Valiente is of Filipino descent and Elikolani is of Native Hawaiian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian descent. Her father divorced her mother and left the family when Scherzinger was two years old. Elikolani then married German-American Gary Scherzinger, who adopted her, and whose surname she eventually took. She has a younger half-sister, Keala. When Scherzinger was 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 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.

Nicole Scherzinger's Career and Major Works

At the age of 14, Scherzinger joined the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she was cast in her first professional play, La Bête. 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. She was surprised she got the part as she was up "against a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair". In 2007, she was inducted into DuPont Manual Alumni's Hall of Fame as one of the youngest inductees. Since 2013, she has endowed YPAS with a yearly $2,000, namesake scholarship. After earning a scholarship, she attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she 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, she 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". In 2018, she received the 2017 Alumna of the Year Award from the Wright State Alumni Association.

2001–2002: Eden's Crush

Nicole Scherzinger's Personal Life and Relationships

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 changed her mind, seeing 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".

Along with Ana Maria Lombo, Maile Misajon, Ivette Sosa, and Rosanna Tavarez, Scherzinger 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; it 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. They went on to tour with 'N Sync and Jessica Simpson, but, by the end of the year, their label went bankrupt and the group disbanded. During this time, will.i.am, front man of The Black Eyed Peas, approached Scherzinger to become a member of the group, but her then-boyfriend, Nick Hexum, declined. Following the band's dissolution, Scherzinger took a detour into acting and guest-starred in television shows such as My Wife and Kids (2002) and had a cameo in the independent comedy, Chasing Papi (2003).

In August 2003, opting for a solo recording contract, Scherzinger traveled to Arista Records office in New York with a demo CD of her own written material under her Hawaiian family name Nicole Kea. Her performance was interrupted by a citywide blackout, and she was forced to leave. Meanwhile, Robin Antin, the creator of the burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls, struck a joint venture with Interscope Records and, along with record producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, launched an open audition for a separate recording group. After Will.i.am recommended Scherzinger to Iovine, she hoped to obtain a solo deal and auditioned in December 2003 along with Melody Thornton joining Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt. As the lead singer, Scherzinger assumed the majority of the vocals and is the only member of the group to have songwriting credits on their debut album PCD, which was released in September 2005. The album was preceded by "Don't Cha", which became their international breakthrough, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The album spawned other hits, "Stickwitu" and "Buttons", the former of which was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

Where Is Nicole Scherzinger Now? Recent Years

In February 2006, Scherzinger signed a global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, which would cover her future songwriting. Her work as lead singer furthered Scherzinger's popularity as she continued to work on her own music. Scherzinger's first solo recording was a feature on Avant's "Lie About Us" that was released in July 2006 and later collaborated with Sean Combs on "Come to Me", which became Scherzinger's first solo top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. In March 2007, Scherzinger announced that her debut studio album would be titled Her Name is Nicole and was initially scheduled for a release in late summer. Four singles were released from the project—"Whatever U Like" featuring T.I., "Baby Love" featuring will.i.am, "Supervillain", and "Puakenikeni"—however, all failed to make any significant impact on the Billboard charts, although "Baby Love" was a moderate success in international territories. After a number of push backs, Scherzinger decided not to release any further singles from the album and, at her request, Her Name Is Nicole was eventually shelved and shifted back her focus on the Doll's second album.

The Pussycat Dolls' second and final album, Doll Domination, was released in the United States on September 23, 2008, and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. The album included the singles "When I Grow Up" and "I Hate This Part", which peaked at number nine and eleven on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both songs were originally recorded for Scherzinger's solo effort. The following year, the group embarked on the worldwide Doll Domination Tour, which began on January 18, 2009. While on tour, Scherzinger was asked to re-write the pop version of "Jai Ho" from the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The song was titled "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" crediting A. R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls, while Scherzinger was credited as a featured artist causing dissatisfaction within the group. The song reached number one in 17 countries; in the US, it peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100, after rising eighty-five places consequently making the largest weekly leap from number 100. On April 5, 2009, Scherzinger performed "America the Beautiful" at Wrestlemania XXV, at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. After the tour concluded in August 2009, the group announced a hiatus to further pursue solo careers. In December 2009, Scherzinger was announced as the third judge joining Ben Folds and Boyz II Men band member Shawn Stockman on the first season of The Sing-Off. She returned for the second season before being replaced by Sara Bareilles.

2010–2012: The X Factor and Killer Love

Nicole Scherzinger's Legacy and Impact

In May 2010, Scherzinger and her dance partner Derek Hough won the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. In July 2010, Scherzinger served as a guest judge only for Dannii Minogue on The X Factor UK during the auditions and the bootcamp, where she formed One Direction, by picking up the boys and insisting with other judges that the boys together would have been a smash. Her stint was "well-received by viewers and producers". The following month, she portrayed Maureen in Neil Patrick Harris' Hollywood Bowl production of the rock musical Rent. Her performance in the musical received praise from critics, Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Scherzinger's powerhouse voice was meant for venues like the Bowl." In October 2010, Scherzinger released "Poison" as the lead single from the album, which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, and announced her departure from the Pussycat Dolls to focus on her solo career.

Her debut album, Killer Love, was released on March 21, 2011, in the United Kingdom. On the UK Albums Chart the album debuted and peaked at number eight and by November it sold over 140,000 copies. The album's second single, "Don't Hold Your Breath" became Scherzinger's first number-one single as a solo artist in the UK Singles Chart and its third single "Right There" reached number three. "Right There" was remixed to feature 50 Cent and peaked at number thirty-nine, remaining her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. It was released as the lead single for the US version of Killer Love, however after a number of delays, the release was never materialized.

Initially hired to co-host with Steve Jones the first season of the USA show of The X Factor, Scherzinger's eventual replacement of former judge of The X Factor UK, Cheryl Cole amidst the audition stages as a judge caused controversy. She later received backlash and death threats after sending the result to deadlock in the quarter-final, which resulted in Rachel Crow's elimination. She mentored the Over 30s; her final contestant, Josh Krajcik, was named the runner-up of the season. In December 2011, as part of the 25th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera, Scherzinger performed the song of the same name at the Royal Variety Performance. Meanwhile, Killer Love was re-released with four additional songs, including the fifth and final single, "Try with Me". Scherzinger left The X Factor USA after the conclusion of the first season. She was replaced by Britney Spears for the second season of The X Factor USA.

In February 2012, she embarked on her first headlining tour in the United Kingdom, and later briefly appeared in Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black 3. On June 15, 2012, she was confirmed as the fourth judge for the ninth series of The X Factor UK to replace Kelly Rowland for a reported salary of $1.17 million. Scherzinger mentored the Boys category and selected James Arthur, Rylan Clark-Neal, and Jahmene Douglas to compete in the live shows. Scherzinger made history and a hugely successful judge on the UK show by becoming the only judge to have all three of her contestants in the quarter-final and...

Nicole Scherzinger's career continues to be documented by reputable media; the facts above are drawn from Wikipedia's biography and public records.

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