Nicole Scherzinger (/ˈʃɜːrzɪŋər/; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente; June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter and television personality. She began her career with performances in plays throughout her adolescence before pursuing a musical career with American rock band Days of the New. She later found modest success in 2001 upon winning a place in Eden's Crush, a girl group created through The WB's Popstars.
Scherzinger achieved mainstream recognition when cast as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, which released the albums PCD (2005) and Doll Domination (2008), becoming one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Scherzinger's prominent role was a point of contention within the group and factor in its eventual dissolution in 2009. Her solo career has included two studio albums–Killer Love (2011) and Big Fat Lie (2014)—to moderate success; the former includes the number-one single "Don't Hold Your Breath".
Scherzinger subsequently ventured into television winning Dancing with the Stars (2010) and serving as a judge on multiple television talent shows including The Sing-Off (2009-2010), The X Factor USA (2011), Australia's Got Talent (2019) and most notably The X Factor UK (2012-2013, 2016-2017) with mentoring eventual winners of The X Factor UK James Arthur and Matt Terry. She has served as a panelist on The Masked Singer since the competition's 2019 debut and has reunited with the Pussycat Dolls for an upcoming tour. As an actress, Scherzinger made her West End debut in a 2014 revival of the musical Cats, for which she received a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical and starred in the television film, Dirty Dancing (2017).
Throughout her career, Scherzinger has sold over 16 million records as an artist, and more than 54 million records with the Pussycat Dolls. Her other ventures include clothing lines, a fragrance and service as an ambassador for the Special Olympics and supporter of UNICEF UK.
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