Missy Elliott Basic Information
Stage Name: | |
Real Name: | Melissa Arnette Elliott |
Occupation: | Rapper, Singer, Songwriter, and Record Producer |
Date Of Birth/Age: | 1 July 1971 |
Place of Birth: | Portsmouth, Virginia, USA |
Gender: | Female |
Nationality: | American |
Marital Status: | Single |
Education: |
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Height: | 5Ft 2In |
Net Worth: | $55M |
Missy Elliott Biography
Melissa Arnette Elliott was born on July 1, 1971, at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is the sole child of her parents, former U.S. Marine Ronnie Elliott and power company dispatcher Patricia Elliott. Elliott’s family was actively involved in the church choir; thus, singing was a regular part of her childhood. Historian Veronica A. Davis said she “would sing and perform for her family” when she was four years old because she wanted to be a singer. She feared no one would take her seriously because she was always the Woodrow Wilson High School class clown.
The family resided in a development of manufactured homes in Jacksonville, North Carolina, while her father served as an active Marine. During this period of her life, Elliott grew. Even though she wasn’t interested in the coursework, she enjoyed school because of the friendships she made. She later scored above average on cognitive exams and moved up two years beyond her previous level. She became isolated due to her grade change, purposefully failed, and eventually returned to her prior class. They relocated back to Virginia, where they lived in poverty after her father’s discharge from the Marines.
Elliott and her mother lived in Portsmouth, Virginia’s Hodges Ferry neighbourhood after leaving home due to domestic abuse.1990 saw Elliott graduate from Portsmouth, Virginia’s Manor High School. In 2019, Berklee College of Music awarded Elliott an honorary Doctor of Music degree.
Family
Parents
She is the daughter of Patricia Elliott, a power company coordinator, and Ronnie Elliottt, a U.S. marine officer. She was severely impacted by her father’s rage and violent behaviour as a child against her mother. When she reached fourteen, she and her mother left her father’s house. Even though she occasionally speaks to her father, she has not forgotten how he treated her mother.
Siblings
There aren’t any specifics regarding her siblings because she doesn’t frequently talk to the media about them, but it’s generally believed that she was an only child. According to other media outlets, though, she reportedly has a sibling named Racheal Stone.
Children
It has been reportedly said that She has two sons (who may be adopted), even though specifics aren’t known.
Spouse
Missy Elliott has never been wed or involved in a romantic relationship with a man. Her sexual orientation has been the subject of much suspicion as a result, with many people speculating that she is gay and has dated female celebrities, including Lil Kim, Sharaya J, and Olivia Longott. Elliott has never verified or rejected the rumours circulating about these alleged romances.
Lifestyle
Missy Elliott is one of the world’s most renowned and well-known female musicians. She has won five Grammy Awards and is the only female artist to have six platinum albums recognized. Elliott accomplished the unexpected in the overwhelmingly male-dominated world of rap music after setting new records for sales, with more than seven million in just the United States alone. This fiercely ambitious woman has achieved a remarkable feat by imprinting herself in the hip-hop industry. Her early years were far from idyllic, and she is just as determined, tenacious, and strong-willed today. It was rife with unpleasant occurrences and domestic abuse that her mother had to endure from her father.
Elliott, however, never gave up on her dream of singing. She joined a singing band as a teenager, and the rest is history, as they say.
She debuted in the music industry by starting the R&B group Fayze with her pals. The band created many demo songs, including the ‘First Move’ ad. She first got the notice of producer and Jodeci member DeVante in 1991, for whom she sang backstage at a Jodeci event. DeVante was impressed by the performance and helped Fayze go to New York, where she signed a record deal with Elektra Records. Elliott, Timbaland, and Barcliff trio were given the new moniker Sista.
She dabbled in several activities when she was in New York. When Jodeci released their last two albums, “Diary of a Mad Band” and “The Show, the After Party, the Hotel,” she contributed as a songwriter. She penned and rapped for Raven-Symoné’s 1993 first hit, “That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of.” She collaborated with her friends to create the first Sista album, “4 All the Sistas Around Da World.” The record, however, never saw the light of day. However, the 1995 film “Dangerous Minds” included the song “It’s Alright” from this album.
She collaborated with Timbaland to produce and write songs for various singing sensations, such as her friend, the late Aaliyah, Nicole Wray, Destiny’s Child, and others. Together, they produced many successful songs, including “If Your Girl Only Knew,” “One in a Million,” “What About Us,” “Get on the Bus,” and others.
In addition, she started her solo career as a rapper on some well-known singers’ albums, including Gina Thompson’s “The Things That You Do,” Sean “Puffy” Combs’s “Bad Boy Remixes,” and MC Lyte’s “Cold Rock a Party.” She then agreed to a contract with East West Records to record her debut album. Timbaland was chosen as her production collaborator, a position he kept for nearly all her solo albums throughout her career.
She made several cameo appearances and provided rapping for other singing stars before releasing her self-titled debut album in 1997. The album was a smash hit and peaked on the American music charts before being certified platinum. She received immediate fame in the music industry as a female rapper.
While working on other artists’ songs, she continued to create and produce hits like Total’s “Trippin,” Whitney Houston’s “In My Business,” “Oh Yes,” and Melanie Brown’s “I Want You Back” despite having the perfect first launch. Her second studio album, “Da Real World,” which she released in 1999, followed in the footsteps of its predecessor’s commercial success. The album, which featured big singles including “She’s a Bitch,” “All N My Grill,” and “Hot Boyz,” sold nearly 3 million copies.
Her third studio album, “Miss E… So Addictive,” was released in May 2001. Top-charting songs from the album included “One Minute Man,” “Get Ur Freak On,” and “4 My People.” It was declared platinum and earned favourable reviews from music reviewers. When Tweet’s first song, “Oops (Oh My),” was published, her remarkable composition and rapping abilities were praised. The song received favourable reviews and peaked in the top ten charts.
Her fourth album, “Under Construction,” which was released in 2002, brought her international recognition. ‘Work It’ and ‘Gossip Folks’, two big singles from the album that emphasized an old-school vibe, were among its highlights. With 2.1 million copies sold in the US, it became the greatest-selling female rap album ever and is her best work. ‘This Is Not a Test!’ was her fifth studio album, released in 2003. Despite the success of its hits “Pass That Dutch” and “I’m Really Hot,” the album did not garner the same level of acclaim as her earlier releases.
Her sixth studio album, “The Cookbook,” came out in 2005. On the US charts, the album debuted at number two. Both the general public and critics gave the singles favourable reviews. She released ‘Respect M.E.’, a compilation album, 2006 under the Atlantic Records imprint. The album was a compilation of singles from six of her earlier albums.
She embarked on a two-leg tour in 2010 that took her to numerous locations in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. She also performed at the H1’s ‘Hip Hop Honors: The Dirty South’ in June of that year. She gave iTunes two exclusive singles in 2012. ‘9th Inning’ and ‘Triple Threat’ were the singles. Two excerpts of the song “Triple Threat” featured Timberland.
She directed Sharaya J’s most recent music video, “Smash Up the Place/Snatch Yo Wigs,” in 2013, marking her return to directing following “Ching-a-Ling.” She appeared in Faith Evans’ song “I Deserve It” in March 2014. She sang “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” and “Lose Control” at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show the following year. The performance received glowing reviews and significantly increased Elliott’s album sales.
She released her song “WTF (Where They From)” in November 2015. The track received high marks from critics and is sometimes called Elliott’s “comeback.” She released the promotional song “Pep Rally” in February 2016 in time for Super Bowl 50. Additionally, Elliott contributed vocals to the group song “This Is for My Girls.” She appeared in Taraji P. Henson’s White Hot Holidays, a television special that same year.
She released her single “I’m Better” in January 2017. 2019 saw her become the first female rapper honoured in the “Songwriters Hall of Fame.” In the same year, “Iconology,” her first lengthy play, was also published. The EP featured four songs and was largely well-received by critics. She appeared in Toni Braxton’s music “Do It” remix in June 2020. Additionally, she was a part of the remix of Dua Lipa’s song “Levitating.”
Early in 2021, she appeared in Bree Runway’s song “ATM.” She appeared on the Skrillex and Mr Oizo song “RATATA” from February 2023. The British girl group “Flo” then included her in the song “Fly Girl.” One of her best-selling albums, “Under Construction,” peaked on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number three. Additionally, the record received a Grammy Award nomination. ‘Respect M.E.’, a compilation album, is her second top-ten UK album and the highest-charting one overall.
She won the Grammy in 2002 for Lady Marmalade in the category of “Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.” She won a second Grammy Award the same year for “Best Rap Solo Performance” for the song “Get Your Freak On.” For “Scream, aka Itchin,” she won the Grammy Award in 2003 for “Best Female Rap Solo Performance.” For “Work It,” she won the Grammy Award for “Best Female Rap Solo Performance” in 2004. Lose Control won the Grammy Award for “Best Short Form Music Video” in 2006.
Elliott was honoured as a Black Woman in Music by Essence magazine in 2018 and was given the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the UN in 2019. Urban One gave her the Music Innovation Award in 2020. Elliott was among the first honorees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in May 2021.This well-known American female rapper and songwriter is a five-time Grammy winner. She is the only female rapper whose six albums have earned platinum certification, including one double platinum. Because of these factors, she is called the “Queen of Rap.” She does, however, have Graves’ disease, a hyperthyroid illness. She was one of the first hip-hop and R&B artists to focus on feminism, body positivity, and gender equality in their music.
Missy Elliott has a net worth estimated to be around $55 million due to her prosperous career.
Cars
House
Movies
Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott has a varied and respectable career in several genres. During her early career in the entertainment industry, Elliott worked on a variety of projects, such as “Any Given Sunday” (1999) with Al Pacino, “Booty Call” (1997), “Can Hardly Wait” (1998) with Jennifer Love Hewitt, “Nothing to Lose” (1997) with Martin Lawrence, “Soul Food” (1997) with Vanessa Williams, and “Varsity Blues” (1999). Elliott committed her time to several projects in the early 2000s, including “Moulin Rouge” with Nicole Kidman (2001), “Pootie Tang” (2001) with Lance Crouther, “Brown Sugar” (2002), and “The Transporter” (2002), starring Jason Statham.
Elliott worked on early 2000s movies like “Fade to Black” (2004), the Will Smith and Robert De Niro blockbuster “Shark Tale” (2004), the Steve Carell and Catherine Keener hit “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), “Stick It” (2006) starring Missy Peregrym, and “The Last Kiss” (2006) starring Zach Braff. Elliott most recently contributed music to the 2014 big hit comedy “Neighbors” starring Seth Rogen. The Hustle and Honey Boy (2019) are two of her most recent works.