Nicole Scherzinger on screen and on stage

Nicole Scherzinger is an American singer and actress who has recorded widely and appeared in film, television, music videos and on stage in both the West End and Broadway. She first appeared on television as a contestant and eventually became a member of Eden's Crush on Popstars USA; a show aimed at finding new talent to form a group. Following the band's dissolution in 2002, Scherzinger took a detour in acting and guest-starred in television shows such as My Wife and Kids (2002) and had a cameo in the independent comedy, Chasing Papi (2003).^[1][2]

Her performances as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2009 brought her international attention,^[2] which led to her collaborating with other artists and appearing in three music videos in 2006, including a collaboration with P. Diddy's "Come to Me". The following year, she released her first music videos as a solo artist to the songs "Whatever U Like" and "Baby Love" from her shelved solo project, Her Name is Nicole. In 2009, the music video for "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)" received a MTV Video Music Award nomination.^[3] After the group's hiatus, Scherzinger became a judge on The Sing-Off for its two first seasons and won the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars.

After her stint as a guest judge on the British X Factor was favorably received by viewers and producers,^[4] Scherzinger was a main judge on the first season of the American version of the show. Her role was met with several controversies, while her performance was panned by critics.^[5] Meanwhile, Scherzinger released her debut album Killer Love (2011) and music videos for the disc's singles "Poison", "Don't Hold Your Breath", "Right There", "Wet" and "Try with Me". The following year, she appeared in Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black 3,^[6] and found greater success on the British X Factor, where she appeared as a judge for four series (2012–2013 and 2016-2017). She received a nomination for National Television Award for Best TV Judge (2017).^[7]

Scherzinger released four music videos from her sophomore solo album, Big Fat Lie (2014), including the lead single "Your Love". In 2015, she appeared on three variety shows; in the United States as a contestant, winning the inaugural season of I Can Do That, co-hosting Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, and in the UK appeared as a music panelist in Bring the Noise. She voiced the titular mother's role of Sina in Moana in 2016 and in 2017 starred in the television film Dirty Dancing, a remake of the 1987 film of the same name. Scherzinger is currently appearing as a panelist on The Masked Singer to ratings success.^[8] She made her West End debut in Cats, as Grizabella, in 2014, followed in 2023 by Sunset Boulevard, where her starring role as Norma Desmond earned her the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The following year, she reprised the role on Broadway.