Alicia Keys Biography

Fast Facts

• Given the Humanitarian Award at the 2009 BET Awards for her work with numerous charities
• Co-Founded charitable organizations Keep a Child Alive and We Are Here Movement
• Nominated for a Director's Guild of America award in 2012 for work on "Five․"
• Received the Hollywood Film Award in 2008 for Ensemble Acting of the Year
• Studied choir at the Professional Performance Arts School of Manhattan
• Debuted in showbusiness at the age of four on an episode of "The Cosby Show․"
• Trained in classical piano starting at age seven
• Quote: "I'm very serious about my craft, I want to make the best music that people have ever heard․ I want to make music that goes down from generation to generation and people never forget․"
• Quote: "I think music and socialism and politics have always gone hand in hand․ As artists we used to be way more instrumental in providing a soundtrack to the heartbeat of what's going on in the world․"
• Learned to play the cello for her role in "The Secret Life of Bees․"
• Named an honorary member of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha in 2004