Nicole Scherzinger Biography
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger (born June 29, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and occasional actress who is best known as the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls.

Previously, Scherzinger was a backing vocalist for the late-1990s rock group Days of the New, then she was part of reality TV girl group Eden’s Crush. After the disbandment of the group she joined The Pussycat Dolls and became the lead vocalist during the transition to a popular music group. So far, The Pussycat Dolls have released two albums, PCD and Doll Domination, with two supporting tours. More recently, in early 2010, Scherzinger became the winner of the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Nicole Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Alfonso Valiente, is of Filipino descent, and her mother, Rosemary, is of Hawaiian, Ukrainian, and Russian descent. In an interview, Scherzinger said: “I’m Filipino-Russian-Hawaiian, but people think I’m from Pakistan”. Her mother Rosemary was eighteen at the time of Scherzinger’s birth and lived in an inner city neighborhood. Nicole’s parents separated when she was still a baby. Her maternal family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, when she was six years old, with her sister Ke’ala and her German-American stepfather Gary Scherzinger. Nicole met Nick Hexum, of 311, backstage at a Days of the New concert in 2000 or 2001. They dated and later became engaged but broke it off sometime in 2004. She then dated actor Talan Torriero from 2005 to 2007. For the last few years she has been dating 2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton who currently races for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Scherzinger explained that she had been brought up with a strict religious (Roman Catholic) upbringing in Hawaii. She first attended Meyzeek Middle School as an adolescent. Growing up, Scherzinger states that she didn’t have a lot of money and the singer thanks her mom for all the support she gave her to become what she is today. Scherzinger began performing in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. As a teenager, Scherzinger was the first runner-up at the 1996 Kentucky State Fair’s Coca-Cola Talent Classic contest. Scherzinger majored in acting and musical theatre at Wright State University, where she played Velma Kelly in Chicago and Julie La Verne in Show Boat but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New.

From 2006 until late 2008 Scherzinger had been working on her debut album which was titled Her Name Is Nicole. She recorded/wrote about 75-100 songs for the album which was supposed to be released in 2007 before being pushed to October 16, 2008 and later into 2009 before being shelved. She told MTV “I’ve always said that in the Pussycat Dolls, I kind of feel like Superwoman. But that’s just one of my alter egos. I’ve got the vulnerable, lovesick side of me amongst others which all appear on my record.”

Scherzinger confirmed that she has done one song with Slash for his solo album Slash released in April 2010. On February 1, 2010 along with other artists Scherzinger had re-recorded “We are the World”, a charity single for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song debuted during NBC’s coverage of the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was released as a single on iTunes on February 12, 2010 accompanied by the music video.

Nicole Scherzinger