Who is Nicki Minaj? Everything You Need to Know (2024)

Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago.

Her father is Robert Maraj, who worked as a financial executive. Her mother, Carol Maraj, was a foreign exchange teller and gospel singer. She has four siblings, brothers Brandon Lamar and Michaiah Maraj, and sisters Ming Maraj and Jelani Maraj.

Her parents emigrated to the United States when Nicki was very young. She lived with her grandmother in Saint James until her mother sent for her and her brother when she was five.

Her father was addicted to drugs and abusive, particularly towards her mother. He once set fire to the family home in an apparent and unsuccessful attempt to kill her mother.

With a keen ear for music since an early age, she played the clarinet in her middle school band. Afterward, she auditioned and gained admission to ‘La Guardia High School’, a magnet school for the arts.

After an unsuccessful attempt at an acting career post high school, she worked several odd jobs, many of which she was fired from for apparent poor customer service.

She began her musical career rapping in a foursome called ‘The Hoodstars’, which included 7even Up, Lou$tar, and Scaff Breezy.

In 2004, ‘The Hoodstars’ recorded the song ‘Don’t Mess With,’ which was a contribution to a compilation album for the WWE, entitled ‘ThemeAddict: WWE The Music’, Vol. 6.

Minaj left ‘The Hoodstars’ and uploaded much of her work to her Myspace profile page. This caught the attention of Fendi, CEO of ‘Dirty Money Entertainment’, who signed her for a 180-day contract, in 2007.

She released her first mixtape, ‘Playtime is Over’ on July 5, 2007, and she released a follow-up entitled ‘Sucka Free’ in April of the following year.

On April 18, 2009, she released her third mixtape ‘Beam Me Up Scotty.’ The album featured the hit song ‘I Get Crazy,’ which reached number 20 on the US Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs.

After gaining the attention of fellow rap artist Lil Wayne, Minaj signed a contract with his record label ‘Young Money Entertainment’ in August of 2009.

Beginning on November of 2009, she appeared as a featured cameo on other artists’ songs, including those of Mariah Carey and Robin Thicke.

On March 29, 2010, she released her debut album ‘Massive Attack’ (an early title, which was later changed to ‘Pink Friday’). The album featured the hit song ‘Your Love,’ which reached number 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard’s Rap Songs.

‘Super Bass’ was the fifth single to be released from ‘Pink Friday,’ and the song reached number 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and certified octuple-platinum in the United States.

She performed ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ featuring Madonna and rapper M.I.A. for the 2012 Super Bowl half-time show.

Her follow-up studio album ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ was released on April 2 2012, which featured singles ‘Roman in Moscow’ and ‘Stupid Hoe.’

She voiced the character Steffie in ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ in June of 2012.

In September of 2012, she became a judge on the television show ‘American Idol,’ along with judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, and Keith Urban, which she left the following May.

Though known for her rapping, she began acting and first appeared in the 2014 release ‘The Other Woman’, which starred Cameron Diaz.

Her third album, ‘The Pinkprint’, was released on December 15, 2014, which featured her largest hit to date, ‘Anaconda’. The song reached number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and she received three Grammy Award nominations for the album.

Minaj appeared in the third instalment of the Barbershop film series, 'Barbershop: The Next Cut,' alongside Ice Cube, Eve, Cedric the Entertainer, and others. Minaj portrayed a hairdresser named Draya. She was nominated for a 'Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy' for her role.

In 2017, Minaj featured in Jason Derulo's single "Swalla," and also signed with modeling agency 'Wilhelmina Models.'

On March 20, 2017, Minaj entered the record books, when her simultaneously released singles ("No Frauds," "Changed It," and "Regret In Your Tears") broke the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries for a female artist.

At the 2018 Met Gala, she announced her fourth album, 'Queen,' which was scheduled to release on June 15, 2018. She released the album's lead single, 'Chun-Li,' on April 12, 2018, and it peaked at number 10 on the 'Billboard Hot 100.' Queen's second single, 'Bed,' was released on June 14, 2018, and it peaked at number 42 on the 'Hot 100.'

In May 2018, she announced that the release date of Queen was being pushed to August 10, 2018. On August 1, 2018, she again pushed back the release date of Queen, to August 17, 2018, but it was finally released on August 10, 2018. The album debuted at number two on the 'US Billboard 200,' at number five in the UK, and at number four in Australia. The album mostly received positive reviews. After the release of this album Minaj released a music video for the its opening track, "Ganja Burns."

In May 2018, she announced that the release date of Queen was being pushed to August 10, 2018. On August 1, 2018, she again pushed back the release date of Queen, to August 17, 2018, but it was finally released on August 10, 2018. The album debuted at number two on the 'US Billboard 200,' at number five in the UK, and at number four in Australia. The album mostly received positive reviews. After the release of this album Minaj released a music video for the its opening track, "Ganja Burns."

In her early career, Minaj had claimed that she was bisexual, but later, in an interview to the 'Rolling Stone' magazine, she clarified her sexuality saying she had deliberately called herself bisexual to get attention.

She had a long romantic relationship with Safaree Samuels, whom she dated from 2000 till 2014. She separated from her longtime boyfriend in late 2014.

In early 2015, Nicki Minaj started dating rapper Meek Mill. They got engaged sometime in 2015, but on January 5, 2017, she announced about her separation with Meek Mill.

In July 2011, in an unfortunate incident Minaj's cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York.

In December 2015, her older brother, Jelani Maraj, was arrested on charges of abusing his step-daughter. Defence argued that all allegations were fabricated and untrue, but a Nassau County jury found him guilty of child endangerment and predatory sexual assault of a child.