Lauryn Hill

Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

American Singer, Songwriter, Rapper, Producer, Actor • Born May 26th, 1975 • Hip-Hop, Reggae, Soul

Fast Facts

• Growing up in New Jersey, Hill often performed at school and even performed for the famous Apollo theater at age 13.
• While in high school, Hill acted on the soap opera As the World Turns and starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
• She attended Columbia University, but left before graduating to pursue her musical career.
• Hill rose to musical fame as a member of the hip-hop group (The) Fugees, which also included Wyclef Jean.
• (The) Fugees’ album The Score won two Grammys and sold 17 million copies, which made them the highest selling rap group of all time. 
• Her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) sold over 420,000 copies in the first week, breaking the record for female artists.
• Credited as a pioneer of the neo soul movement, she has won countless awards – including 8 Grammys, 3 American Music Awards, 4 NAACP Image Awards, and 6 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Lin-Manuel Miranda has stated that she is his favorite rapper, and there are nods to her throughout Hamilton.
• Hill is mother to six children: five with Bob Marley’s son Rohan, and another from a later relationship.