Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole Elikolani Prescovia Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is of Hawaiian, Filipina and Russian descent, and comes from a large family of entertainers -- her mother, Rosemary, was a professional hula dancer, and her grandmother was a respected Mariachi singer. When Nicole was just 6 years old, her military father was transferred to Louisville, Kentucky, where she began attending performing arts schools, pursuing an education that would persist throughout her adolescence. As a teenager, she was the first runner-up at the 1996 Kentucky State Fair's Coca-Cola Talent Classic contest, and she appeared in several plays at Louisville's Actors Theater. Scherzinger appeared on the second album by Days of the New, released in 1999. She also recorded two songs with Barry Drake's F.O.B, which were released in 2001. After the disbanding of Eden's Crush, Scherzinger made a few promotional solo appearances under the stage name of Nicole Kea, including covering "Breakfast in Bed" for the soundtrack to 50 First Dates in 2003. Scherzinger worked with Yoshiki Hayashi on in his Violet UK project. She sang the English version of "I'll Be Your Love" live with the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra. The track also appeared on the 2003 Various Artists album Exposition of Global Harmony. In May 2003, Scherzinger joined The Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. She had first seen them performing on The Late Show with David Letterman in November 2002, where Carmen Electra sang "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity. In 2006, Scherzinger said "It caught my eye because I’d played Velma Kelly in Chicago in college." The Pussycat Dolls now have world-wide status as a popular singing group; their Billboard top five hits "Don't Cha", "Buttons", "Wait a Minute" and "Stickwitu" and the top 20 hit "Beep". The album PCD went double-platinum in 2006.

Scherzinger sang nearly all lead vocals on the album, with Melody Thornton and Carmit Bachar also contributing. In 2006, Scherzinger toured with the Pussycat Dolls for their album promotion. It was revealed in 2006 that the Dolls are salaried employees of Interscope Records, giving the label a high level of control over the group's finances and business decisions. The group is planning to release their second album in 2008, titled Double the Trouble. Scherzinger's PCD nickname is "Lead Doll" or "Queen Doll". Following the popularity of "Don't Cha" and the continuing rise of the Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger recorded a series of duets or "guest appearances", predominantly with male vocalists. In 2005, she appeared on recordings by Shaggy, Vittorio Grigolo, and Will Smith. The following year she sang on Avant's single "Lie About Us" and P. Diddy's hit "Come to Me" (which she also co-wrote). Other appearances are listed in her discography. Scherzinger briefly appeared in the movie Chasing Papi as the real Miss Puerto Rico even though she is half Filipino, quarter Hawaiian and quarter Russian, whose appearance as a candidate was impersonated by the character of Roselyn Sanchez, with whom Scherzinger shared a physical resemblance. She also had a small role in the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing. Nicole has recently done a commercial for The CW Network promoting their 2007-2008 Fall Primetime schedule – Get Into The CW.