The Nelas Academy

ALICIA KEYS

United States | Music • Songwriting • Production • Theatre

Alicia Keys is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, producer and actress whose career helped redefine contemporary R&B and soul music in the twenty-first century. Born Alicia Augello Cook in New York, she achieved international recognition with her 2001 debut album Songs in A Minor, which produced the major hit “Fallin’.” At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Keys won five awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year.

Her musical career has expanded into production, acting, publishing, entrepreneurship and Broadway. She co-founded Keep a Child Alive and has used her platform to support social and humanitarian causes. She is also a producer and creative force behind Hell’s Kitchen, the Broadway musical inspired by her life and music. By 2025, the Recording Academy described her as a 16-time Grammy winner and a major force across music, theatre, film, television and activism.

The Nelas Research Focus: R&B • Songwriting • Female Creativity • Music Production • Broadway

THE NELAS 100 GREAT WOMEN OF COLOR 1975–2025
HALL OF FAME EDITION
(50-Year Retrospective Research Project)

The Nelas 100 Great Women of Color is a curated research and documentation selection, not a definitive ranking of all Black and African women who have contributed to global entertainment.

The Nelas 100 Great Women of Color 1975–2025 is a research and documentation project of The Nelas Academy which is an emerging international media, arts and cultural research institution created to celebrate and preserve the contributions of Black and African women in creative arts, entertainment, music, film, modelling, poetry, fashion, pageantry and cultural presentation.

© Published by the Media & Research Department of
The Nelas Academy of Arts, Media and Television.