Canadian singer-songwriter and actress Nelly Kim Furtado was born 46 years ago in Victoria, British Columbia, is separated and has 3 children.
Nelly was born to Portuguese parents who in the late 60s emigrated with their kids to Canada. When she was just 4 years old, Nelly began to sing and perform in Portuguese and appeared in public for the first time together with her mum when they sang in duet in church. Five years later, Furtado learnt to play the ukulele and trombone, going on to the keyboards and guitar as she grew older. She wrote her first song when she was 12 and later on joined and performed with a marching band. Nelly also worked as a chambermaid for 8 summers together with her mum and siblings.
In 1996, she graduated, moved to Toronto and got a full-time job. There she met a hip hop group member who asked her to act as vocalist on their album, to which she agreed. Nelly then formed a trip hop duo but felt it was not what she really wanted and left the group. She then performed in a talent show and was noticed by a couple of artists who invited her to write for them and in return they helped her record a demo which eventually led her to a record deal in 1999.
Her debut studio album was released in 2000 and included the hits ‘I’m like a Bird’ and ‘Turn off the Light’. From then to date, Nelly had 6 more studio albums, as well as 2 compilation, 1 live and 1 video albums, plus 37 singles as lead artist and 17 as featured artist. She also had numerous music videos and collaborated with various artists in their works.
Apart from music, Furtado starred in some movies and TV series. She is also a philanthropist and supports various charitable institutions regarding racism and AIDS.
During her career so far, Nelly won 106 awards out of 227 nominations, including 10 Juno and 12 SOCAN, amongst many others. She has sold more than 45 million records, rendering her one of the most successful Canadian singers.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: Daily Mail