Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado Vital Stats
Birth Name: Nelly Kim Furtado
Birth Date: December 2, 1978
Birth Place: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height: 5’1”
Romantic Link: Demacio Castellon



Nelly Furtado Interesting Facts
Nelly Furtado speaks fluent Portuguese and Hindi.

Nelly Furtado turned down $500,000 to pose for the men’s magazine Playboy.

On Nelly Furtado’s Folklore album, the whistler in the background of “Island of Wonder” is her mother, Maria Manuela Furtado.



Nelly Furtado Biography
Born in Vicotria, British Columbia, Canada to parents Maria Manuel and Antonio Jose Furtado on December 2, 1978, Nelly Furtado, her sister, Lisa Anne, and her brother, Michael Anthony, grew up going to church and listening to music.

At age 4, Nelly even performed a duet with her mother at church, which set the stage for a future filled with music. By age 9, Nelly was already playing the trombone and ukulele.

When Nelly was all of 11, she had taken on the guitar and keyboard, proving that her musical talents went far beyond that of a one-trick pony. But Nelly didn’t limit herself to instruments; she began writing songs by the age of 12.

Nelly Furtado starts band called Nelstar

As a teenager, Nelly attended Mount Douglas Secondary School, where she began hanging out with rappers and DJs who introduced her to an amalgamation of different sounds.

After she graduated in 1996, Nelly moved to Toronto to pursue her musical dreams, and ended up forming a band called Nelstar, with Tallis Newkirk. Fortunately, Nelly wasn’t happy with the direction the band was headed in and ultimately decided to leave the band and head back to Victoria.

Nelly Furtado's Party's Just Begun

But before she split, Nelly performed at Toronto’s 1997 Honey Jam, where she ended up catching the eye and ear of Gerald Eaton (a.k.a. Jarvis Church). Nelly, Eaton and his partner Brian West, began writing songs together, and, by 1999, Nelly had put together a demo tape, was signed by DreamWorks Records and had a single “Party’s Just Begun” featured on the Brokedown Palace soundtrack.

By October 2000, and with the help of Eaton and West, Nelly released her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, which garnered her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song “I’m Like a Bird,” and was an international success.

Nelly Furtado gives birth to Nevis

On hiatus from the success garnered by her first album, Nelly and DJ Jasper Gahunia had a baby girl named Nevis together in September 2003. Although the two remain good friends, their relationship ended in 2005.

By November 2003, Nelly released her sophomore effort, Folklore, to the delight of fans worldwide. The album, which took flavors from her Portuguese roots, included the song “Forca,” which was used as the theme song for the 2004 Euro Cup, which was hosted by Portugal.

Nelly Furtado & Timbaland

In 2006, Nelly released her third album, Loose, on which she collaborated with uber-producer Timbaland, and the first single off the album, “Promiscuous,” became an instant hit, receiving airwave saturation due to constant fan requests.

“Promiscuous” won Furtado a Grammy for Pop Single of the Year, and she won her all 5 awards she was nominated for at the Juno Awards (Grammy equivalent in Canada).

Most recently, Nelly announced plans to release an all-Spanish album and has even dipped her toes in acting, guest starring on an episode of CSI: New York.



Nelly Furtado engaged to Demacio Castellon

Currently, Nelly splits her time between California and Toronto, and is happily expecting her second child with sound engineer and fiancé Damacio Castellon. She currently shares custody of her young daughter with her ex, Jasper Gahunia.

Resource:
IMDb - Nelly Furtado