England-born Lewis Hamilton’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality.
Her parents raised her in a Roman Catholic household, and she has opened up about the strong influence of her religious upbringing.
Highlights
- Nicole Scherzinger’s father, Alfonso, left his family, and her mother, Rosemary, married German-American Gary Scherzinger.
- After moving to Louisville, Kentucky, her family struggled financially, and she took local jobs to help her parents.
- Nicole and Lewis began dating in 2007 but officially separated after eight years in February 2015.
Nicole Scherzinger rose to stardom as the lead singer of the R&B-pop group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2010.
They are one of the world’s best-selling female groups of all time, with over 55 million records sold worldwide.
She began her musical career with Eden’s Crush, a girl group created through The WB’s talent competition show Popstars.
Their debut single, “Get Over Yourself,” became the first female act to debut at number one on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart and ranked 8th on the Billboard Hot 100.
Moreover, in July 2010, she served as a guest judge on The X Factor UK and helped form One Direction, insisting with other judges that putting the boys together would have been a smash.
Nicole Scherzinger Had Diverse Ethnic From Her Parents
Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, the daughter of Alfonso Valiente and Rosemary, was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Her father is of Filipino descent, and her mother is of Native Hawaiian and Ukrainian descent.
Alfonso left his family when Nicole was only two, and Rosemary married German-American Gary Scherzinger. Later, Gary adopted her, and she eventually took his surname.
They relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, where the singer-songwriter grew up with her younger sister, Keala.
Nicole had a difficult upbringing as their family struggled financially. Her mother worked as a clerk, and her stepfather was a welder.
She had no money, wore second-hand clothes, and was bullied at school. Despite the challenges, she supported her parents by working as a waiter, taking local modeling jobs, and working in an amusement park.
She used to borrow friends’ CDs of Miss Saigon as she couldn’t afford trips to the theatre.
I was an ugly duckling, but I always wanted to be Whitney Houston. I went to a youth performing arts school, where I discovered musicals. The first one we did was Alice in Wonderland, and I thought I’d never get cast as Alice because I was up against a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair. But we had this teacher who was just badass, so I got Alice.
Nicole Scherzinger
Later, she earned a scholarship at Wright State University, where she majored in theatre arts with a dance minor. In 2001, her mother saw a commercial for the WB show Popstars USA and encouraged her to audition.
For her audition, she sang Whitney Houston‘s version of Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You” and became part of the girl group Eden’s Crush.
Nonetheless, Nicole was Roman Catholic, and her grandfather was a priest. She considered herself conservative with extreme religious beliefs.
She would go to church twice a week to make her mother proud. Rosemary famously cried when she saw her daughter’s raunchy clothes wearing on stage.
Lewis Hamilton And Nicole Scherzinger Had On-And-Off Relationship
Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger met at Munich’s 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards and quickly began dating.
He is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari and has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles.
The lovebirds quickly became one of pop culture’s most talked-about couples.
Their relationship was quite public and often on and off, with several breakups and reconciliations.
However, after eight years together, they officially separated in February 2015. Nicole felt she had lost herself in the relationship, and Lewis admitted that his cars were his main priority.
They spoke about the challenges they faced in their relationship, including their busy schedules and the constant travel required for Hamilton’s Formula One career.
It’s similar to most sportsmen and women. It may be slightly different in that we are traveling as much as we are, and you are just away for crazy amounts of time.
Lewis Hamilton
So that’s probably an additional weight that makes it really, really tough to hold down a good relationship, and if things aren’t quite perfect.
Despite their breakup, Nicole and Lewis have expressed mutual respect and well-wishes for each other. The Formula One racer admitted his world turned upside down after their split.
Nicole moved on with Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov but ended their relationship in 2019. She is currently engaged to former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans.
Additional Information
- Nicole Scherzinger won the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars in May 2010 with her dance partner, Derek Hough.
- She appeared as a panelist on The Masked Singer in 2019, a reality singing competition where celebrities perform covers of famous songs while donning disguised costumes.
- She is an actress famous for appearing in Men in Black 3, Moana, and Moana 2.
- Her net worth is estimated at $14 million, and she earns $3 million annually as of 2025.
