Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Born:
Alicia Augello Cook,
25 January 1981,
Manhattan, New York,
New York, USA

Nickname: Lellow

Raised in Manhattan.

Sign: Aquarius

Mother: Irish and Italian

Father: Jamaican

Education: Professional Performance Arts School in Manhattan, graduated two years early as valedictorian;
Columbia University

Started playing the piano at age seven.

Favorite album of all time: Songs In The Key of Life by Stevie Wonder

     Born and raised in Manhattan, the stunning, bi-racial Alicia Keys recognizes a number of influences, including her ultra-supportive mother, who told her, "You can quit anything else, but you can never give up on your piano lessons."
     At age 16, Alicia's outstanding grades allowed her to finish high school early. "I was so deeply involved in music, I had already outgrown all the pressure of high school cliques and gossip." Columbia University accepted Alicia Keys, and though she gave it a whirl, the desire to focus on music was the driving force over all else.
     Highly sought-after by record labels that held good, old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor, Alicia signed to Arista Records in 1998. In late 1999, Alicia followed Clive Davis to his new J Records where she continues to chart her arrival to the music world.