Janelle Monáe (born December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas) is a multi-talented American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress who has earned ten Grammy nominations, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. She rose to fame with her critically acclaimed concept albums, including The ArchAndroid (2010) and Dirty Computer (2018), and achieved mainstream success with the diamond-certified hit "We Are Young" (2011) with fun. Her acting career took off with standout roles in the Oscar-winning films Moonlight and Hidden Figures (both 2016), followed by appearances in Harriet (2019) and Glass Onion (2022). Beyond music and film, she launched her own record label, Wondaland Arts Society, and authored the cyberpunk story collection The Memory Librarian (2022). Raised in a working-class community and inspired by Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder, she has also been honored with the ASCAP Vanguard Award and Billboard's Trailblazer of the Year Award, cementing her status as a boundary-pushing creative force.