Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first rose to prominence for starring on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016–2019) and the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2022).
Olivia Rodrigo
- Singer
- songwriter
- actress
2015–present
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
Rodrigo signed with Geffen Records in 2021, releasing the international chart-topping single "Drivers License" which helped raise Rodrigo to prominence. Her debut studio album Sour was released that same year, and won her three Grammy Awards among other accolades. A Disney+ documentary, Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U, followed in 2022, chronicling her creative process with Sour. The following year, Rodrigo released her second studio album, Guts, which was a critical and commercial success.
Overall, Rodrigo has achieved three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, two Billboard 200 number-one albums, and five multi-platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her other accolades include an American Music Award, seven Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. Time named her the 2021 Entertainer of the Year and Billboard named her Woman of the Year in 2022.
Life and career
2003–2019: Early life and acting
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo[1] was born on February 20, 2003,[2] in Murrieta, California, to Jennifer, a school teacher, and Chris, a family therapist.[3][4][5] An only child,[4] she grew up in neighboring Temecula.[6]
Rodrigo was born half-deaf in her left ear.[7] Rodrigo is Filipino American;[8][9][10] while her mother has German and Irish ancestry.[4][11] She has stated that her paternal great-grandfather emigrated from the Philippines as a teenager and her family follows Filipino traditions and cuisine.[9][12] She grew up listening to her parents' favorite alternative rock music, such as the bands No Doubt, Pearl Jam, the White Stripes, and Green Day.[13]
Rodrigo attended Lisa J. Mails Elementary School in Murrieta, participating in their after-school musical theater program.[14] At age five, her parents signed her up for vocal lessons with Jennifer Dustman, who would begin to enroll Rodrigo in various local singing competitions.[15] Under the advisement of Dustman her parents enrolled her in acting lessons.[16][15][17] She began taking piano lessons at age 9.[17][15] Rodrigo first became interested in songwriting after listening to country music songs by Taylor Swift,[13] and was playing guitar by age 12.[17] In 2010, at age seven, she first appeared onscreen in an Old Navy commercial.[18][19][20]
In 2015, at age twelve, Rodrigo made her acting debut portraying the lead role of Grace Thomas in direct-to-video film An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success.[21] She attended Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in Murrieta for a year, until moving to Los Angeles after landing an acting role in Disney Channel's Bizaardvark in 2016;[14] she was homeschooled from then until her graduation in 2021.[4][22] Starring as the character Paige Olvera, a guitarist, she played the role for three seasons.[23][24][25][26]
In February 2019, she was cast in the starring role of Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which premiered in November of that year.[27] Rodrigo was praised for her performance,[28][29] with Joel Keller from Decider describing her as "especially magnetic".[30] For the series, Rodrigo wrote and performed the promotional single "All I Want", released in November 2019.[31][32] She left the show at the end of its third season to focus on her music career.[33]
Artistry
Influences
Rodrigo named Taylor Swift and Lorde as her idols and primary musical inspirations,[85] and dubbed herself Swift's biggest fan "in the whole world".[86] Rodrigo later went on to give interpolation credits to Swift and Jack Antonoff on her song "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" and retroactively credited Swift, Antonoff and Annie Clark on her song "Deja Vu".[87] In 2022, she called The White Stripes band member Jack White her "hero of all heroes".[88] Other stated influences on Rodrigo's debut album included Alanis Morissette, Kacey Musgraves,[89] Fiona Apple, St. Vincent,[90] Cardi B,[91] Gwen Stefani,[92] Avril Lavigne,[93] and Lana Del Rey.[94] Guts was primarily inspired by her punk and alternative rock influences, including Babes in Toyland and Rage Against the Machine.[95]
Songwriting and voice
Rodrigo's voice type is soprano.[96][97] Media outlets generally describe her as a pop artist,[98][99] with songs ranging from pop rock,[100] teen pop,[101] and indie pop styles,[102] as well as 1990s alternative rock.[99] Rodrigo stated that she wants to be a songwriter and not "the biggest pop star that ever lived", and she chose to sign with Interscope/Geffen Records because its CEO John Janick praised her songwriting, not her "potential star quality".[4] Music journalist Laura Snapes called Rodrigo a "flag-bearer" for a new wave of songwriters who incline towards power ballads "that are as emotional as ever, but project that emotion inward, trading bombast for hush", and described her musical style as rooted in heartache, mental health, and sadness, without being melodramatic, expressing more realistic perspectives than resilient.[103]
Other ventures
Products and endorsements
Rodrigo was announced as brand ambassador of the phone accessory company Casetify, under a year-long partnership, in December 2021. She creative directed the "Hardened Hearts" phone case collection, which was inspired by her debut album Sour and the '90s and Y2K visual aesthetics.[104] She became consumer beauty brand Glossier's first ever celebrity partner in April 2022.[105] Rodrigo collaborated with Sony Electronics to release a special edition of their true wireless Linkbuds S earbuds in September 2023.[106] She and Health-Ade introduced the "Good 4 Ur Guts" smoothie in December 2023—which was available in Erewhon Market stores through January 14, 2024.[107]
Philanthropy and activism
Rodrigo and her Bizaardvark co-star Madison Hu teamed up with Instagram #KindComments to encourage their fans to spread kindness and foster positivity on social media from 2017 to 2018.[108][109][110] Rodrigo and Hu furthered teamed up with non-profit organization My Friend's Place for their 30th anniversary, to help homeless youth find shelter, food, work, education, and healthcare.[111] The event was hosted by Jack Black and raised over $740,000 for local homeless youth.[112] Also in 2018, Rodrigo was named an institute speaker and panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.[113][114] In December that year, she became the face of "She Can STEM" campaign.[115][116][117]
In February 2021, Rodrigo released her merchandise line, "Spicy Pisces T-shirts", on her website, with all proceeds benefitting the non-governmental organization She's the First which sponsors young girls' scholarship and education.[118][119] In June 2021, she sold her clothes, wardrobe and all items from her music videos on Depop and 100% of all proceeds from 'Sour Shop' was donated to charitable organization.[120][121][122] Rodrigo donated a portion of her Sour Tour platinum ticket sales to Women for Women International which supports female survivors of war by helping them rebuild their lives after war devastation.[123] In December 2021, she joined Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Billy Porter and more on Musicians on Call in the 2nd Annual Virtual Concert "Hope for the Holidays" to bring Christmas cheer by uplifting performances and messages of hope to hospital patients via virtual concert.[124][125]
On July 13, 2021, Rodrigo was involved in a White House effort to promote COVID-19 vaccinations among young people in the U.S. She met with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, to discuss her efforts.[126][127][128] CNN reported that Rodrigo would record videos about the importance of young people getting vaccinated, including answering questions the youth have regarding the vaccination.[126]
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rodrigo performed "Fuck You", with British singer Lily Allen, at Glastonbury Festival.[129] She prefaced the performance by dedicating it to the associate justices who voted to overturn Roe, saying "I'm devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don't give a shit about freedom. The song is for the justices."[130]
On November 20, 2022, Rodrigo joined other celebrities, co-founders Eddie Vedder and Jill Vedder for the Third Annual Venture Fundraising event which helped raise more than $1.3 million that month and $6 million for the next 3 years to find a cure for epidermolysis bullosa and other rare diseases.[131][132][133][134] In December 2022, Rodrigo joined Chris Stapleton, Selena Gomez, and more to donate exclusive items to the 2nd Annual ASCAP Foundation, which supports music education and talent development programs across the U.S.[135][136] In the same month, Rodrigo took part in that year's annual virtual concert, 'Musicians on Call' with 30 different artists which brought holiday classic performances and videos of messages of hope to patients, families and health-workers in more than 5,000 hospitals nationwide.[137][138] In January 2023, Rodrigo joined various musicians in donating items to the MusiCares Foundation Charity Relief Auction to help struggling musicians with their financial needs.[139][140]
Rodrigo launched a charity fund called Fund 4 Good, aimed at supporting reproductive healthcare of women, in October 2023.[141][142] She told People that the motive of the non-profit is to raise awareness "for certain groups that are championing women's issues in America and all of the other territories [...] it's going to be a very fulfilling and hopefully productive experience."[143] A portion of the profits from the USA leg of the Guts World Tour would go to the fund, and support the National Network of Abortion Funds.[144] Condoms and Plan B pills were distributed at Rodrigo's St. Louis concert on March 12, 2024, where abortion is illegal under state law.[145] A portion of the profits from the Canadian leg of GUTS World Tour, would go to the fund and support various women's shelters in Canada.[146]
