Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Noelle Hill, born May 26, 1975, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pioneer of melodic rap and a definitive figure in neo soul, she is widely recognized for popularizing hip-hop music. Hill initially achieved global prominence as the lead vocalist of the hip-hop group the Fugees before establishing a record-breaking solo career. Over her career, she has received extensive critical acclaim and numerous honors, including eight Grammy Awards.

Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey, to Valerie Hill, an English teacher, and Mal Hill, a computer and management consultant. Raised in South Orange alongside her older brother Malaney, she grew up in a household deeply centered around music. She attended Columbia High School, where she took advanced placement classes, played violin, ran track, cheerled, and founded the school's gospel choir. During her youth, she also took acting lessons in Manhattan and competed on It's Showtime at the Apollo.

Hill began her professional acting career as a teenager, playing Kira Johnson on the soap opera As the World Turns in 1991, followed by film roles in Steven Soderbergh's King of the Hill and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit in 1993. During high school, she formed a music group with Prakazrel "Pras" Michel and Wyclef Jean, eventually named the Fugees. After releasing their 1994 debut album, Blunted on Reality, the group achieved massive success with their 1996 album The Score. Selling over 20 million copies worldwide, The Score won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, making Hill the first woman to receive the award.

Following the group's split, Hill recorded her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart and featured hit singles such as "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "Ex-Factor," and "Everything Is Everything." It became the first recording by a female rapper to earn a diamond certification. At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, Hill became the first rapper to win Album of the Year and the first woman to win five awards in a single night.

During this era, Hill also featured on Nas's single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" and a virtual duet of "Turn Your Lights Down Low" with Bob Marley, while writing and producing for artists like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Mary J. Blige. In 2002, she released the live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. In subsequent years, Hill reduced her public appearances while occasionally releasing songs, such as the protest track "Black Rage" and the Nas collaboration "Nobody." She also founded the Refugee Project in 1996, an outreach organization for urban youth.

Hill's achievements include four NAACP Image Awards, six MTV Video Music Awards, the ASCAP Golden Note Award, and the inaugural BET Living Legend Icon Award. Her work has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry, and she earned a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.