Nicole Scherzinger

Having risen from being a backup singer to headlining The Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger was the face of one of the biggest pop sensations in the early part of the 21s century. Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978 in Honolulu, HI to her father, Alfonso Valiente, and her mother, Rosemary. When she was just a baby, her parents separated, leaving her with her mother. Scherzinger moved to Louisville, KY when she was six years old with her mother and new step-father, Gary Scherzinger. After attending Meyezeek Middle School, she went to the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School. Meanwhile, Scherzinger began performing with the Actors Theatre of Louisville and became first runner-up in the Kentucky State Fair's Coca-Cola Talent Classic in 1996. Following her high school graduation, she went to Wright State University in Dayton, OH, where she studied acting and musical theatre until 1999, when she left to become a backup singer for the experimental rock band, Days of the New.

In 2001, after appearing on Days of the New's second album, Scherzinger competed in the one and only season of The WB reality show, "Popstars," which earned her a place in the all-girl pop group, Eden's Crush. The group had immediate success with their first single, "Get Over Yourself (Goodbye)," which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. While fun and frivolous on the outside, Scherzinger's experience with Eden's Crush was pure hell behind the scenes, which she later recounted her torturous time with the group to the Daily Mail in 2007. When their record company folded, the group disbanded and Scherzinger began performing solo under the name Nicole Kea. She also began appearing on various television series, landing episodes of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (ABC/WB, 1996-2003), "My Wife and Kids" (ABC, 2000-05) and "Half & Half" (UPN, 2002-06). Scherzinger also made brief appearances in feature films like "Chasing Papi" (2003) and "Love Don't Cost a Thing" (2003).

In 2003, Scherzinger joined the burlesque troupe, The Pussycat Dolls, which was being transformed into a recording group, and became their lead singer. The Dolls released their first album, PCD (2005), which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, while the first single, "Don't Cha," became an international hit. For the next couple of years, the group released several more singles off the album, all of which became hits, including "Wait a Minute." In between Dolls albums, Scherzinger went solo with her own album.Her Name Is Nicole, releasing several singles, though she failed to achieve the same success on her own as she did with her fellow Pussycats. Meanwhile, the Dolls returned with a second album, Doll Domination (2008), which sold well, but not as well as their first. The group planned to record a third album, but were plagued with persistent rumors that the Dolls were breaking up. Scherzinger herself stepped in to quash the rumors on Twitter, though the drama persisted into 2010 when the other members were working on solo material. For her part, Scherzinger joined the season 10 cast of "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ), joining the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Pamela Anderson and sportscaster Erin Andrews. A favorite with the judges and the viewers, Scherzinger and her equally popular professional partner, Derek Hough won the competition. In 2011, another opportunity arose when British singer Cheryl Cole was let go from judging duties on the American version of Simon Cowell's talent contest, "The X Factor" (Fox, 2011- ), reportedly due to her thick British accent. Scherzinger was reportedly on the short-list of replacement candidates. Unfortunately, after making some popular non-decisions that ended up sending favorites home, Scherzinger was fired from the show in early 2012, as was her fellow judges, Paula Abdul and Steve Jones.