Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose to prominence for her leading roles in the Disney Channel series '' Bizaardvark'' (2016–2019) and the Disney+ series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' (2019–2022).

Shifting focus onto her recording career, Rodrigo signed with Geffen Records to release her 2021 single "Drivers License", which peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for eight weeks and raised her to international prominence. That same year, she released her debut studio album, ''Sour'', which spawned her second number-one song " Good 4 U" and the similarly successful singles " Deja Vu", "Traitor", and " Brutal". A documentary, '' Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U'', was released the following year, and chronicles the creative process of ''Sour''. In 2023, she released her second studio album, ''Guts'', supported by her third number-one song "Vampire" and the singles " Bad Idea Right?", and " Get Him Back!"

Overall, Rodrigo has released three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles, two US ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums, and eight songs with multi-platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her accolades include an American Music Award, seven ''Billboard'' Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. She was recognized as ''Time''s Entertainer of the Year in 2021, ''Billboard''s Woman of the Year in 2022, and twice as "Songwriter of the Year" at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards in 2022 and 2024.

Early life

Olivia Isabel Rodrigo was born on February 20, 2003, at the Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, California, to Jennifer, a school teacher, and Chris, a family therapist. She is an only child and grew up in neighboring Temecula. Rodrigo was born half-deaf in her left ear. Rodrigo is half-Filipina and identifies as Filipino American. Her paternal grandparents and great-grandparents emigrated from the Philippines, and her family follows Filipino traditions, including preparation of cuisine. Her mother has German and Irish ancestry. She grew up listening to her parents' favorite alternative rock music, such as the bands No Doubt, Pearl Jam, the White Stripes, and Green Day.

Rodrigo attended Lisa J. Mails Elementary School in Murrieta, participating in their after-school musical theater program. At age five, her parents signed her up for vocal lessons with Jennifer Dustman, who would begin to enroll Rodrigo in various local singing competitions. Under the advisement of Dustman, her parents enrolled her in acting lessons. She began taking piano lessons at age 9. Rodrigo first became interested in songwriting after listening to country music songs by Taylor Swift, and was playing guitar by age 12. In May 2010, at age seven, she first appeared onscreen in an Old Navy commercial.

Career

2015–2019: Career beginnings and acting

In 2015, at age twelve, Rodrigo made her acting debut portraying the lead role of Grace Thomas in the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success''. She attended Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in Murrieta for a year, until moving to Los Angeles after landing an acting role in Disney Channel's '' Bizaardvark'' in 2016; she was homeschooled from then until her graduation in 2021. Starring as the character Paige Olvera, a guitarist, she played the role for three seasons.

In February 2019, she was cast in the starring role of Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'', which premiered in November of that year. Rodrigo was praised for her performance, with Joel Keller from ''Decider'' describing her as "especially magnetic". For the series, Rodrigo wrote and performed the promotional single " All I Want", released in November 2019. She left the show at the end of its third season to focus on her music career.

2020–2022: ''Sour''

Rodrigo signed with Geffen Records in 2020. She negotiated the record deal to secure for herself ownership of the masters of her music. On January 8, 2021, she released her debut single, "Drivers License", which she co-wrote with producer Dan Nigro. Within the week of its release, "Drivers License" was critically acclaimed, and broke Spotify's record twice for most daily streams ever for a non-holiday song with over 15.7 million global streams on January 11 and over 17 million global streams the next day. It went on to break another Spotify record for the first song in history to hit 80 million streams in seven days. The song debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and reached number-one in numerous other countries. Rodrigo stated in an interview that "It's been the absolute craziest week of my life ... My entire life just, like, shifted in an instant."

On April 1, 2021, Rodrigo released her follow-up single, " Deja Vu", which debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making her the first artist to debut their first two releases in the top 10 of the Hot 100. The third single preceding her debut album, " Good 4 U", followed on May 14, 2021, and became her second single to debut at number one on the Hot 100. ''Sour'', her debut studio album, was released on May 21, 2021, to critical acclaim. ''Slate'' Chris Molanphy said its first three singles alone established Rodrigo's "early status as Gen-Z's most versatile new artist". According to '' Clash'' critic Robin Murray, Rodrigo is regarded as one of Generation Z's finest artists, while '' Variety'' dubbed her "the voice of her generation" in its cover story of Rodrigo. ''Sour'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and spent a total of five weeks at the spot, becoming the longest reigning number-one album by a female artist in 2021.

In June 2021, Rodrigo premiered ''Sour Prom'', a prom-themed concert film on YouTube. Three days later, ''Time'' named her Entertainer of the Year. In an Instagram post on December 24, 2021, Rodrigo uploaded a snippet of a Christmas song called "The Bels" that she wrote and recorded at age five. According to ''Billboard'', Rodrigo closed 2021 as the bestselling singles artist worldwide, while placing eight songs on the year-end Global 200 chart, including "Drivers License" at number four, "Good 4 U" at number nine, and "Deja Vu" at number 27. In the US and UK, ''Sour'' was respectively the third and fourth bestselling album of 2021. ''Sour'' and "Drivers License" were also respectively Spotify's most streamed album and song globally. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ranked Rodrigo as the tenth best selling artist of 2021 and ''Sour'' as the second bestselling album of 2021. To support ''Sour'', Rodrigo embarked on her debut headlining tour, the Sour Tour, which ran from April to July 2022; it included stops in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Rodrigo's Disney+ documentary film '' Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U'', which details the making of ''Sour'', was released on March 25, 2022. Rodrigo received seven nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year for ''Sour'', and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Drivers License". She won the awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album for ''Sour'', and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Drivers License". In 2022, while crafting her next album, '' Guts'', Rodrigo attended a poetry class at University of Southern California, and ended up repurposing one of her homework pieces into the song " Lacy", which would go on to appear on the album's tracklist.

2023–present: ''Guts''

On August 16, 2023, Rodrigo became the youngest artist to receive the BRIT Billion Award for achieving over one billion digital streams in the United Kingdom. She was the 19th artist to receive a BRIT Billion Award. Rodrigo's second album, ''Guts'', was released on September 8, 2023, and debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200. She stated that the album was about "growing pains" and self-discovery. Going into the album cycle, she felt that she had grown "ten years" between the ages of 18 and 20. ''Guts'' received critical acclaim from various outlets and was later declared by BBC News as the most critically acclaimed album of 2023. The album's lead single, "Vampire", was released on June 30, becoming Rodrigo's third single to debut atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making her the first artist ever to debut the lead singles from two career-opening albums at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The album's second single, " Bad Idea Right?", was released on August 11, 2023, reaching the top 10 in the US and UK.

On October 9, 2023, Rodrigo performed songs from ''Guts'' in an exclusive concert in partnership with American Express at Los Angeles Theater at Ace Hotel, all proceeds from ticket sales went to her Fund 4 Good nonprofit organization. On October 18, 2023, Rodrigo announced that the four secret tracks released on limited vinyl editions of ''Guts'' would be released as a limited vinyl-exclusive EP to commemorate Record Store Day (RSD) Black Friday. The EP ''Guts: The Secret Tracks'' ranked as one of the top sellers during Record Store Day. On November 3, Rodrigo released the song " Can't Catch Me Now" for '' The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes''. The song won the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror Film at the 2023 ceremony.

To support ''Guts'', Rodrigo embarked on her second headlining tour, the Guts World Tour, which ran from February to October 2024 in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
On March 20, 2024, Rodrigo announced that she would release a deluxe version of ''Guts'' with five additional songs, including the four secret tracks from the vinyl variants. She released ''Guts (Spilled)'' on March 22, 2024. On April 13, 2024, Rodrigo made a special guest appearance at No Doubt's Coachella show, where she performed the band's 2000 single " Bathwater" alongside them.

On October 2, 2024, Rodrigo announced the release of the ''Guts World Tour'' concert film. It was released on October 29, 2024, on Netflix. She was announced as the headlining act for the 2025 BST Hyde Park Show set to take place on June 27, 2025, with support from The Last Dinner Party and Girl in Red. She was later named as one of the headlining acts for Glastonbury Festival 2025. It will be Rodrigo's largest headlining performance in the UK in her career to date.

Artistry

Influences

Rodrigo has named Taylor Swift and Lorde as her idols and primary musical inspirations, and once dubbed herself Swift's biggest fan "in the whole world". Rodrigo later went on to give interpolation credits to Swift and Jack Antonoff on her song " 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" and retroactively credited Swift, Antonoff and Annie Clark on her song " Deja Vu". She said the White Stripes' ''Elephant'' is the album she listens to most, and called band member Jack White her "hero of all heroes" in 2022. Other stated influences on Rodrigo's debut studio album included Alanis Morissette, Kacey Musgraves, Fiona Apple, St. Vincent, Cardi B, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Gracie Abrams and Lana Del Rey. ''Guts'' was primarily inspired by her punk and alternative rock influences, including Babes in Toyland and Rage Against the Machine.

Songwriting and voice

Rodrigo's voice type is soprano. Media outlets generally describe her music as pop, pop rock, alt-pop, teen pop, indie pop, and 90's alternative rock. Rodrigo stated that she wants to be a songwriter and not "the biggest pop star that ever lived", and she chose to sign with Interscope/Geffen Records because its CEO John Janick praised her songwriting, not her "potential star quality". Music journalist Laura Snapes called Rodrigo a " flag-bearer" for a new wave of songwriters who incline towards power ballads "that are as emotional as ever, but project that emotion inward, trading bombast for hush", and described her musical style as rooted in heartache, mental health, and sadness, without being melodramatic, expressing more realistic perspectives than resilient.

Other ventures

Products and endorsements

Rodrigo was announced as brand ambassador of the phone accessory company Casetify, under a year-long partnership, in December 2021. She creative directed the "Hardened Hearts" phone case collection, which was inspired by her debut album, ''Sour'', and the '90s and Y2K visual aesthetics. She became consumer beauty brand Glossier's first ever celebrity partner in April 2022. Rodrigo collaborated with Sony Electronics to release a special edition of their true wireless Linkbuds S earbuds in September 2023. She and Health-Ade introduced the "Good 4 Ur Guts" smoothie in December 2023—which was available in Erewhon Market stores through January 14, 2024. In November 2024, Rodrigo became the global brand ambassador for Lancôme.

Philanthropy and activism

Rodrigo and her ''Bizaardvark'' co-star Madison Hu teamed up with Instagram #KindComments to encourage their fans to spread kindness and foster positivity on social media from 2017 to 2018. Rodrigo and Hu further teamed up with non-profit organization ''My Friend's Place'' for their 30th anniversary, to help homeless youth find shelter, food, work, education, and healthcare. The event was hosted by Jack Black and raised over $740,000 for local homeless youth. Also in 2018, Rodrigo was named an institute speaker and panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. In December that year, she became the face of "She Can STEM" campaign.

In February 2021, Rodrigo released her merchandise line, "Spicy Pisces T-shirts", on her website, with all proceeds benefitting the non-governmental organization She's the First which sponsors young girls' scholarship and education. In June 2021, she sold her clothes, wardrobe and all items from her music videos on Depop and 100% of all proceeds from 'Sour Shop' was donated to charitable organization. Rodrigo donated a portion of her Sour Tour platinum ticket sales to Women for Women International which supports female survivors of war by helping them rebuild their lives after war devastation. On November 18, 2021, she donated a signed Gibson guitar to #VenturesIntoCures program for auction and all proceeds went to life-saving research to treat and cure epidermolysis bullosa. The following month, she joined Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Billy Porter with ''Musicians on Call'' in the 2nd Annual Virtual Concert "Hope for the Holidays" to bring Christmas cheer by uplifting performances and messages of hope to hospital patients via virtual concert.

On July 13, 2021, Rodrigo was involved in a White House effort to promote COVID-19 vaccinations among young people in the U.S. She met with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, to discuss her efforts. CNN reported that Rodrigo would record videos about the importance of young people getting vaccinated, including answering questions the youth have regarding the vaccination.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'', Rodrigo performed " Fuck You", with British singer Lily Allen, at Glastonbury Festival. She prefaced the performance by dedicating it to the associate justices who voted to overturn ''Roe'', saying "I'm devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don't give a shit about freedom. The song is for the justices."

On November 20, 2022, Rodrigo joined other celebrities, co-founders Eddie Vedder and Jill Vedder for the Third Annual Venture Fundraising event which helped raise more than $1.3 million that month and $6 million for the next three years to find a cure for epidermolysis bullosa and other rare diseases. In December 2022, Rodrigo joined Chris Stapleton, Selena Gomez, and more to donate exclusive items to the 2nd Annual ASCAP Foundation, which supports music education and talent development programs across the U.S. In the same month, Rodrigo took part in that year's annual virtual concert, 'Musicians on Call' with 30 different artists which brought holiday classic performances and videos of messages of hope to patients, families and health-workers in more than 5,000 hospitals nationwide. In January 2023, Rodrigo joined various musicians in donating items to the MusiCares Foundation Charity Relief Auction to help struggling musicians with their financial needs.

Rodrigo launched a charity fund called Fund 4 Good, aimed at supporting reproductive healthcare of women, in October 2023. She told ''People'' that the motive of the non-profit is to raise awareness "for certain groups that are championing women's issues in America and all of the other territories ..it's going to be a very fulfilling and hopefully productive experience." In January 2024, she donated items for charity auction and proceed went to MusiCares and Grammy Museum Foundation. A portion of the profits from the US leg of the Guts World Tour would go to the fund, and support the National Network of Abortion Funds. Condoms and Plan B pills were distributed at Rodrigo's St. Louis concert on March 12, 2024, where abortion was illegal under state law. A portion of the profits from the Canadian leg of the tour would go to the fund and support 600 women's shelters in Canada. For the European leg of the Tour, Rodrigo donated to Women Against Violence Europe, in order to prevent all women and their children from any type of violence. She endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election.

In October 2024, Rodrigo donated all net proceeds from her sold-out Philippines concert to Jhpiego, a women's health organization with decades of lifesaving work in the Philippines.

Awards and recognitions

Rodrigo has received various music accolades, including three Grammy Awards, seven ''Billboard'' Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, five iHeartRadio Music Awards, and four People's Choice Awards; an American Music Award, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award. She was named as Times Entertainer of the Year for 2021 and was placed on 100 Next list. ''Billboard'' honored her as Rookie of the Year for 2021 and Woman of the Year at the ''Billboard'' Women in Music event in 2022. The magazine included her on its annual 21 Under 21 list, which she topped the following year.

Rodrigo was included in the lists of Bloomberg 50, ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 in music category, Fortune's 40 Under 40 for two consecutive years, and ''Elle'' 100. '' Variety'' named her as the "Songwriter of the Year" for 2021 and "Storyteller of the Year" for 2023 at the Variety Hitmakers Ceremony. She was considered as the top Songwriter of 2021 by the music rights platform Blokur and The Ivors Academy. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
named her as the "Songwriter of the Year" at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards in 2022 and 2024. During 2024, ''Billboard'' included Rodrigo among the honorable mentions of its " 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century" listicle, describing her as "a new-school rock star as much as a pop phenom", and ''Rolling Stone'' called her "Gen Z's preeminent rock star". In March 2025, ''Billboard'' ranked her at number 21 on the "Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century" list.

Discography

Studio albums
* ''Sour'' (2021)
* '' Guts'' (2023)

Filmography

Film

Television

Tours

* Sour Tour (2022)
* Guts World Tour (2024–2025)

See also

* List of artists who reached number one in the United States

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigo, Olivia

2003 births
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
Actresses from California
American actresses of Filipino descent
American singers
American child actresses
American child singers
American musicians of Filipino descent
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
American television actresses
Geffen Records artists
Interscope Records artists
Living people
MTV Video Music Award winners
People from Murrieta, California
People from Temecula, California
Brit Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
American alternative rock musicians
American child pop musicians
American indie pop musicians
American women pop singers
American women singer-songwriters
Folk-pop singers
Singer-songwriters from California
American folk-pop singers
American pop rock singers
American alternative rock singers