Before she became known as Nicki Minaj, she was Onika Tanya Maraj, a child who moved from Trinidad and Tobago to Queens, New York, and a young performer drawn to acting. Before her music career, she also worked a range of jobs, including server, customer service representative and receptionist.
From Trinidad and Tobago to Queens
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and Tobago. She moved to Queens, New York, when she was five, after spending part of her early childhood in Trinidad with her grandmother, according to The Guardian. Biography.com also places the move at age five.
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She studied acting and wanted to perform
Minaj attended New York’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she studied acting, Biography.com reports. Her interest in performance extended to auditions: a Vogue profile describes her eagerness to audition and notes how she later drew on theater skills when creating performance characters. A Wonderland profile also describes her early acting interest and ambition.
Jobs Nicki Minaj held before music
In Vogue’s “73 Questions” video, Minaj named several jobs she had held before working in music:
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- Shrink-wrapped
- Server
- Customer service representative
- Telemarketer
- Receptionist
- Fire-extinguisher saleswoman
Biography.com also mentions waitressing among her early jobs. These are examples she has reported, not a complete work history or a confirmed sequence. The available accounts do not establish when she held each position or exactly when music became her full-time pursuit.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What her pre-fame story shows
Her path before fame included a childhood move, formal acting study, a desire to perform and a variety of jobs outside music. The sources support that broad outline, but not a precise job-by-job timeline or a claim that one particular position directly led to her music career.
Quick Recap
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- Plate label: universal
- Catalogue: 06025 2799300
- Publication country: NLD
- Year of publication: 2012
- Notes: .. Roman Reloaded 3 Bonus Tracks
Rank #4
- Queen is the fourth studio album by Nicki Minaj released in 2018 via Cash Money/Republic Records
Rank #3
- LIKE NEW CD W/ ALL LINER NOTES
Rank #2
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