Lauryn Hill
Real Name: Lauryn Noel Hill, (born:
May 25, 1975
)
Is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, producer, and film actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation in the hip-hop world as the lone female member of The Fugees. On August 25, 1998 she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, an album which helped to spur the neo-soul genre to a wider commercial platform. After a four year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0; a live recording taped on July 21, 2001 at MTV Studios in Times Square. She has won eight Grammy Awards and is the mother of five children with Rohan Marley, the fourth son of reggae legend Bob Marley.
Where are they now?
After 10 years of ruling the music world. She is now barely recording, living in the suburbs of South Orange, NJ in the home she bought years ago, with her mom and five kids and Rohan Marley and shocking friends with odd behavior reports people magazine.
Last summer during her solo tour, Hill was greeted with boos when she appeared onstage in Brooklyn very late.
Also hurting her reputation was the fact that a 2005 Fugees reunion album was derailed, and Hill's chronic lateness during a brief tour didn't help. Wyclef Jean is quoted as saying, "I kid you not, every night I'm onstage for 45 - 50 minutes before she would come out".
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Birth name: Lauryn Noel Hill
Born: May 25, 1975
Height: 5ft 3in
Stage Name(s):
Lauryn Hill
Origin: South Orange, New Jersey
Career years: 1993-present
Biography
Lauryn Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey. Hill was the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill incessantly listened to her parents' Motown and 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano, and Lauryn's older brother Melaney played the saxophone, guitar, drums, harmonica, violin, and piano.
Hill graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. She began her acting career at a young age. In 1988, 13-year old Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Hill sang her own version of William "Smokey" Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?".
Hill was childhood friends with actor Zach Braff and they both graduated from Columbia High School in 1993. Braff mentioned inviting Hill to his bar Mitzvah in 1988.
Hill appeared on the soap opera As the World Turns as Kira Johnson. In December 1993, she starred in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit as Rita Louise Watson. In the film, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful". It was in this role, as Rita, that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice".
Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill (as Arletta the Elevator Operator), Hav Plenty (1997), and Restaurant (1998). She appeared on the soundtrack to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and on Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 with the track "Selah".
Reference/Source(s):
People Magazine 9/18/08, Lauryn Hill. (2008, August 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:39, August 9, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lauryn_Hill&oldid=230721409
