Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of 10. After college, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she began her recording career in hip-hop. Lizzo released two studio albums, Lizzobangers (2013) and Big Grrrl Small World (2015).
In 2016, Lizzo signed to Atlantic Records and released her first major-label extended play (EP), Coconut Oil. Her third studio album, Cuz I Love You (2019), peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and won three Grammy Awards. It spawned the multi-platinum single "Juice", while its deluxe version included the 2016 single "Good as Hell" and the 2017 single "Truth Hurts"; the latter became a viral sleeper hit two years after its initial release and topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Her fourth studio album, Special (2022), was led by her second US number-one single, "About Damn Time", which also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. After a hiatus, she released her third mixtape, My Face Hurts from Smiling (2025), followed by her fifth studio album Bitch (2026).
Along with her recording career, Lizzo has also worked as an actress; she performed a voice role in the animated film UglyDolls (2019), and appeared in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers (2019). She is also the host of the Amazon Prime Video reality television series Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Competition Program. In 2019, Time named Lizzo "Entertainer of the Year" for her meteoric rise and contributions to music. In addition to four Grammy Awards, she has also won a Billboard Music Award, a BET Award, and two Soul Train Music Awards.
Early life and education
Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born on April 27, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan. When she was ten, her family relocated to Houston, Texas. She was classically trained as a flutist for eight years, from the age of 10 until she graduated from Alief Elsik High School in 2006, where she had started rapping. At age 14, she formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends. At this time, she acquired the nickname "Lizzo", a variant of "Lissa", inspired by Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)". In college, she studied classical music, concentrating on flute, at the University of Houston. At age 21, after her father's death, she lived out of her car for a year as she tried to break into the music industry. In 2009 and 2010, she performed lead vocals and flute in the jazz/prog rock quintet Ellypseas. She dropped out of college and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2011.
Career
2011–2013: Career beginnings and Lizzobangers
While living in Minneapolis, Lizzo performed with groups including the electro soul-pop duo Lizzo & the Larva Ink. During this time she helped form a three-piece all-female rap/R&B group, the Chalice. In 2012, the Chalice released its first album, We Are the Chalice, which was locally successful. In 2013, Lizzo was one of five artists to form the hip-hop group Grrrl Prty, which released two EPs before playing its final show at Rock the Garden and disbanding in 2016. Lizzo's hip-hop-focused debut album, Lizzobangers, produced by Lazerbeak and Ryan Olson, was released on October 15, 2013. Killian Fox of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "At times joyfully nonsensical, Lizzo's stream-of-consciousness rhymes can also be lethally pointed."
The album topped Star Tribune's "Twin Cities Critics Tally 2013" list. Music videos were created for the songs "Batches & Cookies", "Faded", "Bus Passes and Happy Meals", and "Paris". Lizzo toured the US and UK in the fall of 2013, opening for Har Mar Superstar and singing with his band. In October 2013, Lizzo won City Pages' "Picked to Click" award for best new Twin Cities artist. The next month Time named her one of 14 music artists to watch in 2014. The album was subsequently re-released by Virgin Records. Later that year, Lizzo shared the stage with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, performing "A Change Is Gonna Come" together.
2014–2018: Big Grrrl Small World and Coconut Oil
Following the release of her first album, Lizzo immediately began working on new music. In 2014, she participated in StyleLikeU's What's Underneath project, where she removed her clothes as she talked about her relationships with her body. Inspired by the experience, she wrote "My Skin", which she called "the thesis statement" of her forthcoming second album. In an interview with Vice, regarding body image, she said: You can wake up and change many things about your appearance, but the inevitability of waking up in your skin is what unifies us.
In September 2014, Lizzo was featured alongside her Chalice bandmates Sophia Eris and Claire de Lune on the song "BoyTrouble" on Prince's and 3rdeyegirl's album Plectrumelectrum. On working with Prince, Lizzo called the experience "surreal... almost like a fairytale" and "something I will never actually get over." On October 7, 2014, Lizzo appeared as the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman. Lizzo's second studio album, Big Grrrl Small World, was released on December 11, 2015. Spin placed the album at number 17 on the "50 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2015" list. Hilary Saunders of Paste praised Lizzo's "ability to rap and sing with equal tenacity." Her collaboration with Your Smith (then Caroline Smith), "Let 'Em Say", was featured in the season three premiere of Broad City.
Lizzo was one of the hosts of MTV's short-lived 2016 live music performance series Wonderland. After signing with Atlantic Records that same year, Lizzo released her first major-label extended play, Coconut Oil, on October 7, 2016. "Good as Hell" was released as the lead single from the Coconut Oil on March 8, 2016, as part of the soundtrack for the 2016 film Barbershop: The Next Cut. Lizzo co-wrote each song on the album, while enlisting Ricky Reed, Christian Rich, Dubbel Dutch, and Jesse Shatkin for the album's production. The result was a departure from Lizzo's previous alternative hip-hop releases. Lyrically, the extended play explores themes of body positivity, self-love, and the journey to those ideals.
Coconut Oil received positive reviews from music critics. Syra Aburto, writing for Nylon, wrote that "like the product it's named after, [Lizzo's] latest project, Coconut Oil, is essential for healthy living." Rolling Stone placed it at No. 14 on the list of the "20 Best Pop Albums of 2016". Commercially, Coconut Oil peaked at number 44 on US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making it Lizzo's first release to chart. To promote the extended play, Lizzo embarked on the Good as Hell Tour in 2017. In May she headlined The Infatuation's annual food festival, EEEEEATSCON, and also appeared as a guest judge on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In early 2018, Lizzo toured with both Haim and Florence and the Machine.
After struggling with body issues at an early age, Lizzo became an advocate for body positivity and self-love as she attracted more mainstream attention, while making diversity the focus of her music, in regards to one's body, sexuality, race, and more. Her group of back-up dancers, the Big Grrrls, consists of all plus-size dancers. Highlighting body inclusivity and celebrating individuality, Lizzo appeared in ModCloth's "Say It Louder" campaign, which launched on June 11, 2018. In the same month, she sported the first plus-size outfit made for FIT's Future of Fashion runway show by Grace Insogna for her performance at NYC Pride's Pride Island event. Lizzo was profiled in the June 2018 Teen Vogue Music Issue.
2019–2020: Career breakthrough and Cuz I Love You
In 2019, in addition to her musical projects, Lizzo ventured into acting, with a voice performance in the animated film UglyDolls, and a supporting part in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers. "Juice", the lead single…