Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj born December 8 1982 is a Trinidadianborn American rapper singer and songwriter as well as an actress and voice actress Known professionally as Nicki Minaj she is hailed as the most famous female rapper in the planet notably acclaimed for her versatility as an artist her sharp lyrics and animated flow in her rapping including alter egos and hyper accents As a small child Minaj lived with her grandmother in Saint James Trinidad and Tobego until moving to New York City to live with her parents when she was five years old Her father Robert Maraj a financial executive and parttime gospel singer is of IndoTrinidadian and AfroTrinidadian descent while her mother Carol Maraj also a gospel singer is of AfroTrinidadian ancestry Minaj graduated from the LaGuardia High School in Manhattan which focuses on visual and performing arts with the intention to become an actress and in 2001 was cast in the OffBroadway play In Case You Forget Nicki Minaj earned public attention after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 signing to Young Money Entertainment and outshining other artists in her infamous features all before the release of her first studio album Pink Friday in 2010 which skyrocketed her into a global and cultural icon her influence popularity and acclaim only growing to cement her as an icon of over the course of the decade She is the most followed rapper of all time on the social media platform Instagram Nicki Minaj made her film debut in a voice acting role for the 2012 animated film Ice Age Continental Drift followed by supporting roles in The Other Woman 2014 and a voice acting role in Angry Birds Movie 2 2019 She has appeared as selfarchive footage in multiple films and documentaries and stated in early 2022 her intention to return her focus to acting with her biggest role to date