NICKI MINAJ
By: Alisa Fallon
Family History
Onika Tanya Maraj was
born on December 8, 1984
in Saint James, Trinidad.
 She was born to Carol
and Robert Maraj.
 She has 2 siblings:
Jelani (older brother),
Machaiah (younger
brother).
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Early Years
Onika, her parents, her
grandparents, and Jelani all
lived in a 3 bedroom house
until she was 3 years old.
 When Onika turned 3, her
parents moved to New York,
to seek for better
opportunity.
 Nicki and Jelani stayed in
Trinidad with their
grandparents.

Home Away From Home
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When Onika was 4 years
old, she had intense surgery
for a hernia.
This was an occasion where
her mother came back to visit
her.
Onika thought her mother
was taking her home.
She didn’t and Onika was
devastated.
She was very saddened by
the fact that her mom was
leaving again.
Being Reunited
In the winter of1989,
Onika’s father came to
Trinidad to bring his
children to New York.
 “It was very cold. Me and
Jelani were amazed by the
snow. We had never seen
snow before.” Nicki stated
regarding getting off the
plane.
 The children were finally
home.
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Queens, New York
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In Queens, both of Nicki’s
parents found jobs.
Carol (mother) worked as a
nurse’s aid.
Robert (father) worked for
American Express.
Robert Maraj had ongoing drug and alcohol
problems.
So bad that one day, he
tried to burn the house
down.
P.S. 45 Elementary
Nicki attended P.S. 45
Elementary School in
Queens, New York.
 It was Nicki’s 5th grade
teacher, Elizabeth SmithBreslin who inspired her
to be an entertainer.
 Mrs. Breslin directed a 5th
grade play for Nicki’s
class.
 It was then, when Nicki
found her love for
entertaining.
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LaGuardia High School
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LaGuardia High School is a
performing arts school.
Nicki decided to audition for
LaGuardia as a singer.
She didn’t make the cut
because she lost her voice the
day of the audition.
Her mother made her try out
again, but this time for the
drama department.
She made the cut and was
now a student at LaGuardia.
Pursuing a Future
Nicki graduated from
LaGuardia in 2001.
 She had a very deep desire
for becoming an actress.
 After a long, unsuccessful
pursuit of making it in
the acting field, Nicki
gave up on her acting
dreams.
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Last Chance
Onika decided she wanted to be
a rapper.
 She started writing songs and
producing demos for multiple
different record labels.
 But in the mean time, Nicki
needed a job, so she started
working at Red Lobster.
 After she got fired from Red
Lobster, she knew that rapping
was her last chance.
 This is when Onika took on the
name “Nicki Minaj”.

Who is Nicki Minaj?
Onika starting uploading
her rap demos onto her
MySpace account.
 Her popularity quickly
grew when she started
performing at local clubs.
 Word got around about
the young FEMALE
phenom.
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Nicki’s Moment
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Now, Nicki Minaj had become
a star on MySpace and in the
rap community.
Rapper “Fendi” asked her to be
a feature on his DVD, ‘The
Come Up”.
This was when she caught the
attention of international
rapper, Lil’ Wayne.
She signed with Young Money
Records in 2009.
The rest is history.
Behind the Rapper
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Even though she has become
one of the best rappers in the
game, Nicki doesn’t identify
herself as a rapper.
She still embraces acting as
one of her biggest passions.
She is staring in her first
movie, “The Other Woman”
this year.
Nicki once said, “I look at rap
as an opportunity to act. My
head is full of different
characters—in each song I’m
auditioning a character.”
The Future for Nicki Minaj
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Nicki has become and
international superstar, with
many accolades to prove it.
She has also established an
impressive net worth of 45
million dollars.
Nicki said, “I know that no
matter what, in the end it’s
not gonna be about my talent,
you know. It’s not gonna be
about my connections. It’s not
gonna be about my looks. It’s
gonna be about who wants it
the most. And I want it the
most. “
For more info on Nicki
Minaj visit…
Nicki's Website
@ www.mypinkfriday.com
THE END