Nicole Scherzinger

Pop singer and dancer Nicole Scherzinger was born Nicole Elikolani Prescovia Scherzinger on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, HI, but was raised mostly in Louisville, KY, moving there at age six with her mom after her parents separated. Scherzinger (who is of Hawaiian, Russian, and Filipino descent) went to a performing arts high school and, following graduation, enrolled at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Majoring in theater arts and minoring in dance, she eventually put college on hold to pursue music, initially serving as a backing vocalist for the late-'90s rock group Days of the New. In 2001, Scherzinger entered as a contestant on the first season of the WB television show Popstars, where she won the role of lead singer in the resulting all-girl pop group Eden's Crush. The group's first single, "Get Over Yourself," did well on radio and broke into the Billboard Hot 100s Top Ten, but when their label folded soon after, Eden's Crush shortly followed suit. Scherzinger pushed forward and contributed a track ("Breakfast in Bed") to the soundtrack for the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore flick 50 First Dates under the name Nicole Kea.

Around the same time, the popular L.A. burlesque act the Pussycat Dolls were being recast into more of a commercial pop/R&B group, and Scherzinger joined on as their lead singer in 2003. In fact, Scherzinger wound up singing basically all of the vocals on the group's 2005 debut, PCD, along with being the only Doll to have a few songwriting credits on the album. As the Pussycat Dolls' record went on to sell millions of copies, Scherzinger collaborated on various songs outside of the group with artists like P. Diddy, Rihanna, Avant, Will Smith, and Belinda. As the Pussycat Dolls continued to support their debut on the road, Scherzinger readied the release of her first solo album, Her Name Is Nicole..., scheduled for release in late summer 2007. The album is slated to feature various guest spots, including ones from Akon, Timbaland, and will.i.am. Scherzinger also plans on returning to her first love of acting at some point; her résumé already includes bit parts on the television shows My Wife and Kids and Las Vegas, as well as in movies Love Don't Cost a Thing and Chasing Papi. ~ Corey Apar, Rovi