Photo of Nicki Minaj / Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (play /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter and voice actress. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up. Minaj trained as an actress before she released three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and signed to Young Money Entertainment.

Minaj rose to prominence as a recording artist when she released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.[2][3] She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time[4] and her seventh single, "Super Bass" has since been certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold more than four million copies,