Alicia Keys

Date of birth: January 25, 1980
Age: 30

Alicia Augello Cook, better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York by her single mother, where Keys made a television appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Alicia's debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 11 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Alicia five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Alicia made guest appearances in several television series in the following years. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold nearly six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. Throughout her career, Alicia has won numerous awards and has sold over 14 million albums in the United States and 30 million worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

See also:  Singer,  Actress,  American,  Grammy Award Winner,  Grammy Award Nominee,  Songwriter,  Pianist,  Record Producer,  Author,  Philanthropist