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Grammy-winning R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist
She became a global sensation with her debut single Fallin' and album Songs in A Minor, which won five Grammy Awards in 2002 including Best New Artist and Song of the Year.
Alicia Keys, born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, is an American singer, songwriter, and classically trained pianist. Her debut album Songs in A Minor (2001) sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won five Grammy Awards, launching a career that has produced 90 million records sold globally. Keys has earned 17 Grammy Awards, composed the Broadway musical Hell's Kitchen (2023), and co-founded the nonprofit Keep a Child Alive.
Keys grew up in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, raised by her mother Teresa Augello after her father Craig Cook left when she was two years old. She began playing piano at age seven, studying classical works by Beethoven, Mozart, and her favorite composer Chopin. At age 12 she started composing her own songs, and by 15 Columbia Records signed her after recognizing her exceptional talent as a pianist and songwriter.
Keys married hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) on July 31, 2010, in Corsica. The couple has two sons, born in October 2010 and December 2014. Her mother Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, raised her as a single parent in a one-bedroom apartment, often working three jobs to provide for Keys, while her father Craig Cook, a flight attendant, was not part of her life after leaving when she was two.
Born under the Aquarius zodiac sign, Keys exhibits the innovative and humanitarian traits associated with this air sign.
Her signature songs include Fallin', If I Ain't Got You, No One, Empire State of Mind with Jay-Z, and Girl on Fire.
She was the first female artist to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2005.
Keys was named Top Artist of the 2000s in the R&B/Hip-Hop category by Billboard and placed on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.
She wrote, composed, and co-produced the Broadway musical Hell's Kitchen in 2023, which won two Tony Awards in 2024.
I saw a variety of people growing up, and lifestyles, lows and highs. I think it makes you realize right away what you want and what you don't want.
I'm not in contact with him. That's fine. When I was younger, I minded about that. It made me angry. But it helped show me what a strong woman my mother was, and made me want to be strong like her.
Born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25 in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City
Began playing piano at age seven, studying classical composers
Started composing her own songs at age 12
Signed by Columbia Records at age 15
Released debut album Songs in A Minor, which sold over 12 million copies worldwide
Won five Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for Fallin'
Released The Diary of Alicia Keys, which sold eight million copies worldwide
Published her first book Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics
Won four more Grammy Awards and became the first female artist to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one
Released As I Am, which sold seven million copies worldwide, and made film debut in Smokin' Aces
Guest appeared on Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind, which became her fourth number-one hit in the US
Married hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz on July 31 in Corsica and welcomed their first son in October
Won Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for Empire State of Mind
Released Girl on Fire, her fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200
Won Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for Girl on Fire and performed in Israel for the first time
Welcomed second son in December
Named to Time 100 list of most influential people and received Ambassador of Conscience Award
Released album Alicia and served as producer for the Netflix film Work It
Released her eighth studio album Keys
Released her first independent album Santa Baby, a Christmas album
Wrote, composed, and co-produced her first Broadway musical Hell's Kitchen, which premiered off-Broadway
Hell's Kitchen opened on Broadway in April and won two Tony Awards; performed at Super Bowl LVIII halftime show with Usher