Alicia Keys

Birthday: 25 January 1981, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name: Alicia Augello-Cook

Height: 168 cm

Alicia Keys was born in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, to Teresa (Augello), a paralegal who was also an occasional actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant. Her father is African-American, and her mother, who is caucasian, is of Italian and English/Irish/Scottish ancestry. Alicia began taking piano lessons at age seven at her mother's insistence. She proved to be such a prodigy that she was later accepted into he prestigious Professional Performance Arts School of Manhattan, where she majored in choir. Not only her musical talent but also her grades proved to be so exceptional that she was allowed to graduate, as valedictorian, at age 16. In 1998, she signed with Arista Records, and wrote, produced and recorded her own albums. In 1999, she left Arista to join J Records, headed by legendary music impresario Clive Davis, and her success has been meteoric. Her 2001 debut album, "Songs in A Minor," sold six million copies and garnered five Grammys. Her album "Diary" won her four more Grammys in 2005. Show less «

Keep a Child Alive is my passion and my mission.

I have big everything on the bottom but I love my legs. You've got to love what's yours.

Even when I'm singing on record there's a lot of times when I'll fight for a bit of imperfection. I ...Show more »

Even when I'm singing on record there's a lot of times when I'll fight for a bit of imperfection. I might not have quite hit the note to the perfect pitch, but there was a soul in there and feeling that,to me, delivers the emotion of that moment. For me, doing a show, the excitement of singing live, and the possibility that you're not going to be perfect - that's the thrill of it. Show less «

[on developing her early career] I moved at such a speed I tended to feel like I was on a hamster wh...Show more »

[on developing her early career] I moved at such a speed I tended to feel like I was on a hamster wheel and I was just running in circles. I felt a little bit encaged. I was really not happy but I didn't understand why, because here's this big dream and I'm living it, so what's wrong with me? Show less «

I'm very serious about my craft. I want to make the best music that people have ever heard. I want t...Show more »

I'm very serious about my craft. I want to make the best music that people have ever heard. I want to make music that goes down from generation to generation and that people never forget. Show less «

I've learned to love my curves, my womanliness. I used to hide it, to downplay it. But now I revel i...Show more »

I've learned to love my curves, my womanliness. I used to hide it, to downplay it. But now I revel in it. Show less «

I always want to stay focused on who I am, even as I'm discovering who I am.

I love my heritage! I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I hav...Show more »

I love my heritage! I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African. Show less «

[interview in InStyle, 9/06] My mom always said, "Don't date a guy who thinks he's prettier than you...Show more »

[interview in InStyle, 9/06] My mom always said, "Don't date a guy who thinks he's prettier than you". Show less «

I think music and socialism and politics have always gone hand in hand. As artists we used to be way...Show more »

I think music and socialism and politics have always gone hand in hand. As artists we used to be way more instrumental in providing a soundtrack to the heartbeat of what's going on in the world. We all don't have to think the same thing but it's important to state what we think. There is such a fear of termination of one's career if they have any intelligent thought about politics and that's messed up. Show less «

He's just so gifted. When God made Stevie Wonder, he just poured extra talent, extra creativity, ext...Show more »

He's just so gifted. When God made Stevie Wonder, he just poured extra talent, extra creativity, extra everything into him. Show less «

Marvin Gaye wasn't at his best until he hit his late thirties and forties, and had he not been kille...Show more »

Marvin Gaye wasn't at his best until he hit his late thirties and forties, and had he not been killed, he would only have gotten greater. Show less «

Things can be really empty in this world, and I don't just mean the music world. It can become a ver...Show more »

Things can be really empty in this world, and I don't just mean the music world. It can become a very meaningless place if you don't really understand: Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? To feel fulfillment and have a deeper level of understanding, personally, that is the most important thing. Show less «

I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in...Show more »

I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world. I hope I can do half as much in my life. Show less «

I'm a very positive person, but this whole concept of having to always be nice, always smiling, alwa...Show more »

I'm a very positive person, but this whole concept of having to always be nice, always smiling, always happy, that's not real. It was like I was wearing a mask. I was becoming this perfectly chiselled sculpture, and that was bad. That took a long time to understand. Show less «

I believe AIDS is the most important issue we face, because how we treat the poor is a reflection of...Show more »

I believe AIDS is the most important issue we face, because how we treat the poor is a reflection of who we are as a people. Show less «

[on the use of women, sex and sleaze in rap/hip-hop videos] Oh my God, the [hip-hop] videos! The ima...Show more »

[on the use of women, sex and sleaze in rap/hip-hop videos] Oh my God, the [hip-hop] videos! The imagery is so awful! I just can't get with it at all. The best thing I can say about it is that sometimes you have to see that kind of stuff so as to have a more balanced view about why it's so bad. Show less «