The Nelas Academy

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO

Benin | Music

Angélique Kidjo is one of Africa’s most internationally influential recording artists and cultural ambassadors. Born in Benin, she developed a distinctive musical identity that brings together West African traditions with elements of Afropop, Afrobeat, jazz, funk, Latin music and other global sounds. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Kidjo has built an international audience while consistently using music as a vehicle for cultural dialogue and social advocacy. She has received multiple Grammy Awards and was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2002. Her advocacy has particularly focused on children’s rights, girls’ education and development in Africa. Through her recordings, international performances and humanitarian work, Kidjo has become an important bridge between African creativity and the global music industry.

The Nelas Research Focus: African Music • Global Influence • Cultural Diplomacy.

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 an international 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.