Nicki Minaj biography, net worth, husband, age, baby, height 2025

Nicki Minaj Biography

Known for her bold curves, outrageous outfits, and vibrant persona, Nicki Minaj currently holds the title of richest female rapper in history (her fortune was estimated at $70 million in 2018) while also dominating social media. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she climbed to the top of the American music industry and has stayed there for years running. You'd be hard-pressed to find a rap fan who hasn't heard Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," "Starships," "Anaconda," or "Chun-Li." Her net worth is estimated from $85 million to $100 million.

Childhood

Onika Tanya Maraj (Nicki Minaj's real name) was born on December 8, 1982, in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. Her parents, Robert and Carol Maraj have African and Indian ancestry.

As young children, Onika and her brother Jelani, three years her senior, were raised by their grandmother while their parents worked to establish themselves in Queens, an immigrant neighborhood in New York. Robert worked in the American Express courier service while Carol was getting her higher education.

When she turned 5, Nicki moved in with her parents, but her life was far from happy. Shortly afterward, her dad started using drugs and got addicted to crack. He repeatedly beat his wife and children, pawned their furniture, and in December 1987, even tried to burn down their house with Carol inside. Luckily, she managed to get out unscathed.

Later on, Robert overcame his addiction and became an exemplary family man. But until then, living with him was already a nightmare. Nicki comforted herself with the thought that she'd grow up, succeed, and change everything.

Minaj revealed her musical talent quite early. She took music courses at Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School and later studied at Fiorello H. LaGuardia, which focuses on visual and performing arts. She played the clarinet in the school band and participated in drama plays. However, Minaj has always dreamed of singing. She started rapping when she was twelve.

After school, Minaj made some attempts to become an actress but her acting career didn't take off. So at 19, she became a waitress at Red Lobster but got fired soon after for being rude to customers. For that same reason, she was fired from about 15 other different places of work.

Beginning of the career

In 2004, Nicki Minaj joined the rap group "The Hoodstars," which is now remembered for their WWE wrestling theme song. But the breakthrough never came, so Minaj soon left the group to pursue a solo career. She uploaded demos to MySpace and sent them to influential music industry figures. Dirty Money Entertainment responded and offered her a deal. That's when she adopted the stage name Nicki Minaj.

Nicki Minaj – Jump Off

In 2007, Minaj dropped her first mixtape Playtime is Over, followed by Sucka Free. In 2008, she was named Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards.

Nickie Minaj – Dirty Money

In 2009, rapper Lil Wayne heard Minaj's songs and offered her a contract with his Young Money label. Nicki became the first female artist in the history of the label. She made her debut with a solo verse on the hit single "BedRock," which became a commercial success and dominated the charts. Later, Mariah Carey invited the rising star to collaborate on "Up Out My Face," complete with a music video.

Career Success

In November 2010, Minaj released her first studio album Pink Friday. The album was a massive hit, making Minaj the first female artist to land 7 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at once. Two singles, "Your Love" and "Super Bass", also dominated charts across the US. She also embarked on her first promotional tour hitting major US cities, and made a special stop in her hometown of Saint James for a concert.

The debut album elevated Nicki Minaj to the level of top world stars. She began collaborating with A-list artists including David Guetta, Will.I.Am, Kesha Sebert, M.I.A., Madonna, and Alicia Keys. Minaj became a fixture on talk shows while her curves became the talk of the music world. She knew exactly how to grab attention with her curves, bold outfits, and signature doll-like hair colors. However, Minaj always bristled at any comparisons to Lady Gaga.

Nicki Minaj – «Starships»

Minaj claims that her sexy and provocative image is merely a bright shell that covers something significant. During this period, she also created an imaginary male alter ego - red-headed Roman Zolanski, who is gay. Though she retired Roman in 2014, she's never ruled out bringing him back.

In 2012, Minaj voiced Steffie, an arrogant teenage mammoth, in the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift, while also recording her second album "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded."

Nicki Minaj voiced Steffie in the fourth part of the animation «Ice Age»

Her third studio album in the 'pink series', The Pinkprint, was released in December 2014. The rapper's devotion to pink extends to her entire image - you'll always spot the color somewhere in her look. Minaj even repainted her Lamborghini Aventador pink.

Nicki Minaj – Anaconda

In April 2018, Nicki Minaj dropped two new singles: "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz", followed two months later by her album Queen - a project four years in the making. In the same year, the singer released joint singles "Rich Sex" and "FeFe" with Lil Wayne and Tekashi69, respectively.

Nicki Minaj's Personal Life

The rapper keeps her personal life largely under wraps. Rumors about her bisexuality have circulated for years. She's also revealed having an abortion at 16, which she references in her songs "Autobiography" and "All Things Go."

Nicki Minaj has dated Safaree Samuels from 2008 to 2014. Their relationship plays out across many tracks on The Pinkprint, with "Bed of Lies" being a standout example. Safaree Samuels himself said the following: "I packed up my stuff and I left. I just got to the point that the respect wasn't there."

Nicki was also linked to rapper Drake, though they appear to be just close friends.

From 2015 to 2017, Minaj dated rapper Meek Mill, who's 5 years her junior. Shortly after they started dating, he proposed to her but later they broke up. Reports suggested he wasn't ready for family life, and he was also dealing with serious legal troubles.

Nicki Minaj confessed she regrets having had a relationship with Meek Mill

Later, Minaj dated rapper Nas for several months. They had known each other for a long time and even kissed when shooting the video for Minaj's song "Right By My Side".

In 2018, Nicki Minaj began dating childhood friend Kenneth Petty, who was 41. After a year of romance, the lovers got married.

Nicki Minaj Nowadays

The rapper continues pursuing her creative work. Nicki Minaj regularly announces the release of new singles and communicates with subscribers on Instagram.

In the spring of 2020, the public became aware of a criminal investigation against Nicki Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty. It emerged that he has a criminal record for attempted rape, which he failed to report to California authorities when moving to the state. For this misconduct, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Andrea Dixon

I didn`t notice how Nicki showed up. She just made full the whole Internet rapidly and I still didn`t start to listen her music.

2021-04-23 20:45:10
Martha Lopez

Maybe now Minaj will give a birth with her first child and she will calm down and will start to wright good songs :)

2021-04-20 14:43:32
Teresa Silva

I like Nicki Minaj`s style :) I can listen on repeat her album and with other singers also.

2021-04-17 14:18:40
Ivan Padilla

I think Nicki doing too crazy her outfits and images, everything looks not natural and her songs sounds the same.

2021-02-21 21:04:52
Irene Wells

I adore Minaj, she always has a new outfits and images, songs and her video clips are so bright! She is like second Lady GaGa.

2021-01-12 22:32:59

Photos: Nicki Minaj