Alicia Keys

**Alicia Augello Cook** (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as **Alicia Keys**, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She has sold over forty-one million albums and singles worldwide as of 2007, and has won numerous awards, including fourteen Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, and fourteen NAACP Image Awards.

## Early life

Keys was born on January 25, 1981, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her birth name is Alicia Augello Cook. She is the only child of Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant. Her mother is of half Italian and half English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, and her father is of  African American ancestry. Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her mixed race heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".

## Discography

- _Songs in A Minor_ (2001)
- _The Diary of Alicia Keys_ (2003)

- _Unplugged_ (2005)
- _As I Am_ (2007)
- _The Element of Freedom_ (2009)
- _Girl on Fire_ (2012)
- _Here_ (2016)
- _Alicia_ (2020)
- _Keys_ (2021)
- _Santa Baby_ (2022)

## Filmography

- _Smokin' Aces_ (2006)
- _The Nanny Diaries_ (2007)
- _The Secret Life of Bees_ (2008)

## Concert tours

**Headlining tours**
- Songs in A Minor Tour (2002)
- Diary Tour (2005)
- As I Am Tour (2008)
- Freedom Tour (2010)
- Set the World on Fire Tour (2013)
- Alicia + Keys World Tour  (2022–2023)
- Keys to the Summer Tour (2023)

**Co-headlining tours**
- The Verizon Ladies First Tour (2004)

**Concerts**
- Piano & I: A One Night Only Event with Alicia Keys (2011)

## Bibliography

**Books**

**Published articles**
- Keys, Alicia (2008): _AIDS Not Killing Hope in Africa_. CNN.
- Keys, Alicia (2015): _Don't Fail the Children in Africa_. CNN.
- Keys, Alicia (2016): _Time to Uncover_. _Lenny Letter_.

**Other contributions**
- Keys, Alicia (2014): Introduction. in _Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music_ by Angelique Kidjo and Rachel Wenrick. Harper Design.
- Keys, Alicia (2018): Foreword. in _Blend: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family_ by Mashonda Tifrere. TarcherPerigee. .

## Filmography

|Year|Title|Role|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1985|_The Cosby Show_|Maria|"Slumber Party" (Season 1, Episode 22)||
|2001|_Charmed_|P3 VIP Patron (uncredited)|"Size Matters" (Season 4, Episode 5)||
|2001—2010|_Saturday Night Live_|Herself / Musical Guest|"Reese Witherspoon/Alicia Keys" (Season 27, Episode 1) "Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys" (Season 35, Episode 11)||
|rowspan="1"|2003|_American Dreams_|Fontella Bass|"Rescue Me" (Season 2, Episode 6)|
|rowspan="1"|2003|_The Proud Family_|Herself (voice)|"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (Season 3, Episode 46)|
|2005|_Sesame Street_|Herself|Episode #36.26 (Season 36, Episode 26)||
|2006|_The Backyardigans_|Mommy Martian (voice)|"Mission to Mars" (Season 2, Episode 1)||
|rowspan="1"|2007|_Cane_|Herself|"One Man Is an Island" (Season 1, Episode 7)|
|rowspan="1"|2007|_Elmo's Christmas Countdown_|Herself|Christmas television special|
|rowspan="1"|2007|_Smokin' Aces_|Georgia Sykes|Debut film|
|rowspan="1"|2007|_The Nanny Diaries_|Lynette||
|rowspan="1"|2008|_Dove: Fresh Takes_|Alex|Lead role|
|rowspan="1"|2008|_The Secret Life of Bees_|June Boatwright|Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture|
|rowspan="1"|2011|_Five_|Director|Nominated - Directors Guild of America Award|
|rowspan="1"|2012|_Firelight_|Executive Producer||

## Related pages

- List of poets from the United States

## Other websites

- Alicia Keys at Discogs
- Alicia Keys at Metacritic

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Alicia Keys
- **image**: AliciaKeys2013.jpg
- **caption**: Keys in 2013
- **birth name**: Alicia Augello Cook
- **birth place**: New York City, U.S.
- **other names**: Lellow
- **education**: Columbia University (no degree)
- **years active**: 1993–present
- **organization**: Keep a Child Alive
- **children**: 2
- **awards**: List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Keys, Full list
- **signature**: Alicia Keys signature.svg