Biography of Janelle Monáe
Singer Janelle Monáe began performing when she was young. In 2005, Big Boi asked her to appear on many Outkast songs, which gave her a big break. Producer Sean “Diddy” Combs eventually signed her to his Bad Boy Records label. Her debut complete album (2010). Even her latter albums, The Electric Lady (2013), which included Prince and Dirty Computer (2018), were huge commercial successes. In addition, Monáe has dabbled in acting, making appearances in movies such as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and Harriet. Monáe has gained acclaim for her artistic abilities, social activism, and outspoken advocacy of the LGBTQ community.
Early Life – Education and Birth Place
Monáe, Janelle Monáe Robinson, was born into a large extended family of devout Baptists. She grew up surrounded by about fifty first cousins in a working-class Kansas City area. Michael Robinson Summers worked in sanitation, while Janet Robinson, her mother, had a job as a caterer and custodian. Summers battled cocaine addiction and spent time in and out of jail during Monáe’s early years. Before he got sober in the middle of the 2000s, their relationship was challenging. Before Monáe’s first birthday, her mother split from Summers; she remarried and had a daughter named Kimmy.
According to Monáe’s family, they believed that the performer was destined for stardom. She performed in high school theatrical performances and won talent events by performing Lauryn Hill’s 1998 song “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Monáe relocated to New York City to enroll in the American Musical and Dramatic Academy after receiving her degree.
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Struggle and Career of Janelle Monáe
Career Breakthrough
Following her academic dismissal, Monáe relocated to Atlanta, where she obtained employment at an Office Depot and shared a boarding house with five other women. To play and promote her music, she tirelessly visited nearby campuses while self-producing a demo CD called Janelle Monáe: The Audition. Monáe got to know two young songwriters who shared her interests, Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder, while on one of these tours. To support avant-garde music and art, the three of them quickly established the Wondaland Arts Society, a record label and group of artists.
At the age of 20, Monáe got her big break in 2005 when she sang Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” at an open mic event. After seeing Monáe sing, Big Boi, half of the well-known hip-hop group Outkast, approached her and exclaimed, “Man, that was inspiring!” Big Boi, who was present in the crowd, expressed his admiration. He recorded two songs with Monáe, “Time Will Reveal” and “Lettin’ Go,” from the hip-hop album Got Purp? Vol. II by Purple Ribbon All-Stars, which was released later that year. Outkast included Monáe on two more tracks from its well-liked and critically praised album Idlewild, “Call the Law” and a year later, in 2006.
Musical Success with “Metropolis”
According to Rolling Stone, Big Boi introduced Monáe to rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, who later visited the musician’s MySpace website and found what he saw impressive. After seeing her perform live in Atlanta, Diddy signed her to a distribution contract with Bad Boy Records. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the usual in charge, Diddy said he was so sure of Monáe’s ability that he allowed her career and music to develop naturally.
“If you’re a leader in this industry you want to be helping to push it forward, and she’s an artist that would help to push it forward,” added Diddy, describing the EP as “different and innovative” and expressing his desire to promote it. The Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance included the lead song from Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), “Many Moons.” The album peaked at No. 115 on the Billboard 200 album list. The 2009 American Idol season finale included the tune “Open Happiness.” That same year, Monáe supported No Doubt on their summer tour.
The ArchAndroid
The release of The Archandroid took place in 2010. It produced the songs “Cold War” and “Tightrope,” the latter of which featured Big Boi and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. The ArchAndroid carried Monáe’s futuristic sci-fi tale Metropolis, which also functioned as a metaphor for African American history out. Cindi Mayweather discovers on the new album that she is the ArchAndroid, a Messiah-like figure sent to battle injustice and rescue the planet. Monáe predicted that by 2029, “we’re going to live in a world of androids.” How can we all coexist peacefully?
With her strong voice and endless imagination, Monáe rose to prominence in modern R&B. Alongside singers Bruno Mars and B.o.B., Monae performed at the Grammy Awards. Among her admirers were Mars, Diddy, Big Boi, Prince, and President Barack Obama.
“The Electric Lady” and Acting Career
With the release of her second album, The Electric Lady, in 2013, Monáe once again won praise from critics. Along with cameos by fellow R&B musicians Prince, Miguel, and Erykah Badu, the album carried on the Metropolis concept. Critics particularly praised her track “Q.U.E.E.N.” featuring Badu, which had a question-and-answer exchange structure. Prince named The Electric Lady and declared the music video for “Q.U.E.E.N.” to be the best of the year. Compared to its well-liked predecessor, the album did better, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. At the 2013 Billboard Women in Music event, Billboard honored Monáe with their Rising Star award.
From 2014 to 2016
She was also voted the 2014 Woman of the Year at the Harvard College Black Men’s Forum’s annual Celebration of Black Women event. Monáe’s label, Wondaland Arts Society, announced a collaboration with L.A. in February 2015. Reid’s Epic Records support her musicians, beginning with the Wondaland Presents: The Eephus album released in March that included songs by Jidenna, Roman, Monáe, and Deep Cotton. Monáe and the Wondaland Arts Society group sang the protest song “Hell You Talmbout” in August of that year, which addressed the issue of Black people being beaten by the police. It was then referred to as the Black Lives Matter movement’s song.
Around this same period, Monáe started her acting career. She voiced a character in the animated film Rio 2 (2014) before starring in a supporting capacity in the critically acclaimed drama Moonlight (2016), which went on to win the Best Picture Oscar. The 2016 film Hidden Figures, which chronicles the lives of a few Black women who worked at NASA during the Space Age, featured her as Mary Winston-Jackson. During this period, Monáe continued to pursue her musical career, joining Grimes on the song “Venus Fly” from her album Art Angels (2015). Billboard magazine referred to Monáe as “a mini-mogul,” praising her artistic ability and financial sense in managing her record label.
“Dirty Computer”
Monáe released two new tracks in late February 2018: “Django Jane,” which was influenced by Prince, and “Make Me Feel.” In April, she released “PYNK,” a song she co-wrote with Grimes. A few weeks later, she released Dirty Computer, her eagerly anticipated third studio album, along with a short video she referred to as an “emotional picture.” The album showcased a diverse range of genres, including pop, R&B, rap, space rock, and neo-soul, but it did not carry on her Metropolis narrative.
Dirty Computer opened at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and was well-received by reviewers. But at the 2019 awards ceremony, she had one of the best performances of the evening.
Speaking Out and Coming Out
Highlighting her body of work against tyranny, Monáe gave a stirring speech at the 2018 Grammy Awards. “We are serious about our mission, but we come in peace. And to those who dared attempt to stop us from speaking. We give two words: Time’s up,” she declared, alluding to the women’s equality movement that arose in the wake of the Hollywood scandals involving sexual assault. The day of discrimination is over. Any form of harassment has its time. Time has come to an end for the misuse of authority, as evidenced because it occurs not only in Washington, D.C. but also in our industry.
Additionally, we dedicate ourselves to establishing more secure workplaces and providing access for all women because we acknowledge our ability to influence culture. A few weeks later, Monáe spoke with Rolling Stone about the persistent accusations about her sexual orientation. I am a queer Black lady in America who has mothers, both men and women. She stated that she is attracted to people regardless of their gender identity and that she is pansexual.
Additional Projects
In December of that year, Monáe received the 2018 Billboard Women in Music Trailblazer of the Year award. In addition, she kept advancing her acting career, lending her voice to two 2019 movies, Lady and the Tramp, and starring Steve Carrell in the fantasy drama Welcome to Marwen (2018). In the second season of the Amazon Prime television series Homecoming, which debuted in 2020, she took Julia Roberts’ place as the main character. She also had a supporting role in the 2019 biopic Harriet, which is about Harriet Tubman.
Throughout this period, Monáe kept up her musical career, providing the musical preamble for the 92nd Academy Awards in February 2020. Her performance emphasized diversity and tried to provide visibility to perspectives that are often underrepresented. In the mystery thriller Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), she co-starred with Daniel Craig as master detective Benoit Blanc, giving her the most highly praised acting performance to date. Den of Geek, a website, praised Monáe’s portrayal, as “widely regarded as one of the best parts of the movie.” Monáe’s next album, The Age of Pleasure, will be out on June 9, 2023. One song on the album, “Lipstick Lover,” has a music video that she co-directed.
List of Films
| Film Names/ Year | Role |
| Rio 2 (2014) | Dr. Monae |
| Hidden Figures (2016) | Mary Jackson |
| Welcome to Marwen (2018) | Julie |
| Lady and the Tramp (2019) | Peg |
| Antebellum (2020) | Veronica Henley / Eden |
| Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery (2022) | Cassandra Brand |
Television Series
| Title | Years |
| Stargate Universe | 2009 |
| Dancing with the Stars | 2010 |
| Saturday Night Live | 2013 |
| House: Women of Soul | 2014 |
| Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams | 2017 |
| Dirty Computer | 2018 |
| We the People | 2021 |
| Human Resources | 2022 |
| RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked | 2023 |
Discography
| Janelle Monáe discography | Years |
| The ArchAndroid | 2010 |
| The Electric Lady | 2013 |
| Dirty Computer | 2018 |
| The Age of Pleasure | 2023 |
Awards and Nomination of Janelle Monáe
| Award Name | Results |
| ASCAP Awards (2010) | Won |
| Billboard Music Awards (2013) | Nominated |
| BET Awards (2014) | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards (2017) | Won |
| Billboard Women in Music (2018) | Won |
| GAFFA Awards (2019) | Nominated |
| Children’s and Family Emmy Awards (2022) | Won |
| Critics’ Choice Awards (2023) | Nominated |
| Grammy Award (2024) | Nominated |
Relationship – Love Life, Marriage or Boyfriend
She stated in a 2011 interview with the London Evening Standard that she “only dates androids”. I want individuals who feel oppressed or like the “other” to connect with the music and feel like, “She represents who I am.” You can equate it to being a lesbian male, or a Black woman. “In due time,” she promised, she will discuss her sexual orientation. In 2013, Monáe stated her support for the LGBTQ community and expressed her desire for both men and women to still feel attracted to her.
According to Monáe, she identifies as both pansexual and bisexual. She tweeted the hashtag #IAmNonbinary on January 10, 2020, along with a quote, and the tweet became popular on Twitter that day. A month after the post, Monáe stated in an interview with The Cut, “I tweeted the #IAmNonbinary hashtag to promote Nonbinary Day and to raise awareness within the community. I’m an experience since I could relate to it, particularly as someone who has challenged gender norms since I started my work. I sense the energy that is both masculine and feminine.”
“I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely… I feel like god is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or these.’”
She declared as much in an April 2022 Red Table Talk interview. And I am everything if I am a child of God.” She also admitted to having been in polyamorous and monogamous relationships during the interview. As stated by a Monáe spokesman after the interview, the singer” continues to use her pronouns.”
Figure – Physical Measurements of Janelle Monáe
Here are Janelle’s physical characteristics: weight, height, bust, waist, hip, bra cup, and shoe size. Additionally, one of the interesting things is that her bra cup size is similar to that of Jessica Lowndes, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift.
| Body Shape | Hourglass |
| Height | 5′ 0″ (152 cm) |
| Weight | 52 kg or 115 Pounds |
| Physical Measurement | 33-25-34 |
| Bra Size | 30 C |
| Cup Size | C |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Adress Size | 6 US |
| Shoe size | 7 US |
Age of Janelle Monáe
Janelle was born in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, on December 1, 1985. Additionally, she will be 39 years old, similar to Lana Del Rey in 2024.
Wiki Info
Here is some Wiki information about Janelle given below.
| Real Name | Janelle Monáe Robinson |
| Nickname | Janelle |
| Date of Birth | December 1, 1985 |
| Place of Birth | Kansas City, Kansas, USA |
| Age | 38 |
| Nationality | American |
| Race | White |
| Parents | Father: Michael Robinson Summers Mother: Janet Robinson |
| Siblings | Unknown |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Occupation | Singer, Model, Actress |
Net Worth
Janelle’s estimated net worth is $12 million.
Social Media Accounts
Below are some social media accounts about Janelle with followers.
What is the profession of Janelle Monáe?
Her profession is singer, model and actress.
What is the father’s name of Janelle Monáe?
Her father’s name is Michael Robinson Summers.
What is the hair color of Janelle Monáe?
What is the net worth of Janelle Monáe in 2024?
As of 2024, her net worth is $12 million.
