When word spread that a 60‑foot banner of Nicole Scherzinger would soon hang in her hometown, fans of the newly minted Tony Award winner weren’t surprised.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Louisville, Scherzinger has long been celebrated for her range across pop music and musical theater. She is also known for her work on television and her philanthropy, in particular her support of up-and-coming talent.
In May, Scherzinger returned to the city where she grew up and during Kentucky Derby weekend gave a powerhouse performance of the national anthem at historic Churchill Downs Racetrack ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Oaks on May 1. For the 47-year-old talent, it was a high‑profile homecoming at the most iconic horse racing venues in the world.
Here are five things to know about the Tony Award- winning actress and pop music star.
Nicole Scherzinger rose to fame in The Pussycat Dolls
Scherzinger’s passion for music started at an early age. At 14, she was cast in “La Bête” at Actors Theatre of Louisville, performed in musicals at duPont Manual High School and was part of an entertainment troupe at Kentucky Kingdom.
Pussycat Doll members Jessica Sutta, from left, Melody Thornton, Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts appear at rehearsals for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” in Burbank, California, on Dec. 9, 2008.
After impressing judges on the reality series “Popstars USA” in 2001, Scherzinger was signed to a recording contract with the band Eden’s Crush. In 2003, she joined a new band, The Pussycat Dolls. With only two albums and over 55 million records sold worldwide, The Pussycat Dolls became one of the world’s best selling female groups of all time.
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Nicole Scherzinger has performed for royalty and judged reality shows
Proving her many talents, Scherzinger moved on from her sexy pop star status to performing “Reflection” from Disney’s “Mulan” at the 2023 coronation concert for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in London. She is also the voice of Sina in the Disney film “Moana.“
Nicole Scherzinger performs on stage during the Coronation Concert on May 07, 2023 in Windsor, England.
On television, Scherzinger has served as a judge on “The Masked Singer” and “The X Factor,” where she met her fiancé, former rugby player Thom Evans. She also won ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”
In addition, Scherzinger has severed as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, singing at the opening ceremony at the Special Olympics World Summer Games Los Angeles 2015 and the closing ceremony in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
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Nicole Scherzinger wins 2025 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
Then, 2025 marked a new chapter in Scherzinger’s career. Stepping into the role of Norma Desmond in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” she delivered a performance that critics quickly labeled career‑defining.
Nicole Scherzinger accepts the best leading actress in a musical award for “Sunset Boulevard” during the 78th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 8, 2025.
The role didn’t just earn her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, it also gave Scherzinger the personal recognition for which she’d long hoped.
“Growing up, I always felt like I didn’t belong,” she said during her acceptance speech at the 78th Tony Awards. “But you all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home, at last.”
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Scherzinger awards yearly scholarship to talented high school student
Scherzinger often cites one defining educational moment in her early life. She received the Fund for the Arts’ Whittenberg Scholarship in 1996 while a senior at Louisville’s duPont Manual High School, an award she said eased the financial strain of pursuing the arts and helped shape the artist she became.
“This scholarship helped me get a college education, pay for housing, and it inspired me,” she told Fund for the Arts.
She later paid that support forward by creating the Nicole Scherzinger Performing Arts Scholarship, awarded annually to a student at the Youth Performing Arts School at her alma mater. Since 2013, she has endowed YPAS with a $2,000 yearly scholarship, giving young performers the same boost she once received.
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Who is Nicole Scherzinger fiance?
Scherzinger has been engaged to former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans since 2023. The two first met on the set of “The X Factor: Celebrity,” in 2019 where he competed and she served as a judge.
The couple made its red carpet debut in January 2020 at a Golden Globes after-party. Scherzinger has joked that she’s been way too busy on Broadway to dive into wedding planning, but the couple has said they hope to start a family together when the timing feels right.
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Five things to know about Kentucky’s own Nicole Scherzinger
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