2003-present
Latest News: Olivia Rodrigo Receives 6 Grammy Nominations off the Success of Her GUTS Album
Olivia Rodrigo will vie with Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, SZA, and more for some of the top honors in music at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The “Vampire” singer received six nominations, including Record and Song of the Year for that single and Album of the Year for GUTS. “What an incredible honor to be recognized by the recording academy in this way,” the 20-year-old wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In addition to her Grammy nominations, Rodrigo is also celebrating the release of the anticipated Hunger Games sequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which hits movie theaters on November 17 and features her song “Can’t Catch Me Now.”
Who Is Olivia Rodrigo?
Singer and actor Olivia Rodrigo grew up in California, where she demonstrated an early ability in music that included composing her own songs. A child actor, she landed starring roles on the TV series Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Rodrigo released the heartrending debut single “Drivers License” in January 2021. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the first song with more than one billion streams in 2021. She followed that up with the Grammy-winning album Sour later in the year and her sophomore effort GUTS in September 2023.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Olivia Isabel Rodrigo
BORN: February 20, 2003
BIRTHPLACE: Murrieta, California
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
Early Life and Parents
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo was born on February 20, 2003, in Murrieta, California. Rodrigo grew up in Temecula, California, with her parents: Jennifer, a teacher, and Chris, a family and marriage therapist.
Olivia’s mother has German and Irish heritage, and her father is of Filipino descent. Rodrigo is proud to be a biracial Filipino American but has confessed she didn’t always feel that way: “Me and my other more ethnic friends grew up in this world where we thought that being a white girl would be better, and you’d be happier, and people would like you more.”
When Rodrigo was a child, her mother introduced her to alternative rock such as No Doubt, the White Stripes, and Smashing Pumpkins. Rodrigo herself showed an early affinity for music. At age 5, she started singing lessons; she was soon competing in local contests and talent shows. She was also writing songs at a young age. When Rodrigo was 9, she began piano lessons. She initially hated studying the piano but came to appreciate that the instrument helped with her songwriting.
Rodrigo’s youthful songwriting compositions often focused on heartbreak, even before she’d had a boyfriend. “I literally wrote breakup songs before I ever held a boy’s hand,” she told People.
In addition, Rodrigo displayed a passion for acting, taking classes by the time she turned 6. She had roles in school productions but also started to audition for professional jobs. To do this, her parents would take her on a 90-mile trek to Los Angeles. Rodrigo wasn’t an overnight success. Her parents, who hadn’t pushed her to become a child actor, told their daughter she could stop auditioning. However, she was determined to continue.
Disney Stardom with High School Musical
At age 10, Rodrigo got the lead role in An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success (2015). Two years later, she was cast as Paige Olvera on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016-19). She starred alongside Madison Hu, who remains a close friend. The role required Rodrigo to learn to play the guitar. It also meant getting a place in Los Angeles with her family and leaving public school behind.
Then when she was 15, Rodrigo landed a starring role as Nini Salazar-Roberts on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which premiered in November 2019. Offscreen, she continued to write her own songs. “I Am More,” which she first shared on Instagram, led to the Disney+ show asking her to compose a song for her HSM:TM:TS character.
Rodrigo performed the resulting ballad, “All I Want,” when she was 16. It became a hit for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020. The young actor, who left HSM:TM:TS after three seasons in 2022, soon had a new professional opportunity.
Hit Song “Drivers License”
The abilities Rodrigo demonstrated with “All I Want” drew attention from multiple labels. She ultimately signed with Geffen Records. Other singers who got their starts on Disney programming, such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, had first signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records, so Rodrigo’s choice marked a different trajectory. She has admitted, “I think there’s a specific archetype of the Disney star turned pop star that I didn’t want to follow.”
With support from producer Dan Nigro, who first reached out to Rodrigo after seeing her sing on Instagram, “drivers license” was recorded for release in January 2021. The breakup ballad debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making 17-year-old Rodrigo the youngest performer to accomplish this feat. On TikTok, countless people lip-synched and created cover videos for the song.
Rodrigo’s confessional style has been compared with Taylor Swift, who is an idol of hers. The song’s content also sparked rumors that it was about a breakup with Rodrigo’s HSM:TM:TS co-star Joshua Bassett. However, the song’s appeal goes beyond Disney fans. Rodrigo told The New York Times, “The cool thing about ‘drivers license’ is I’ve seen so many videos of people being like, ‘I have no idea who this girl is, but I really love this song.’” The tune’s reach was reflected in a viral Saturday Night Live sketch in which a group of men rhapsodized about “Drivers License.”
Sour Album and Performances
After “Drivers License,” Rodrigo opted to create a full-length album instead of sticking to her prior plan to release an EP. She worked for 13 hours a day, seven days a week to complete Sour, which Nigro produced. Rodrigo wrote or co-wrote every song on the album.
In April 2021, “deja vu,” a single from Sour, went to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. This made Rodrigo the first performer to have her first two singles launch in the top 10. Another single, “good 4 u,” arrived in May 2021 and became another chart-topper. These successes demonstrated that Rodrigo was not a one-hit wonder.
Sour came out on May 21, 2021, to both critical and commercial success. Rodrigo is proud of its heartfelt content, with multiple songs addressing heartbreak. “I’m a songwriter who writes from a place of authenticity and truth,” she declared to Billboard. “And truthfully, love and happiness and everything weren’t feelings that I was feeling at the time. And what’s the point of putting out a record if it isn’t something that you feel is important to say to people?” The tracks’ different styles reflect the variety of Rodrigo’s musical influences, which include Fiona Apple, Alanis Morissette, and Green Day.
In addition to reaching listeners who are grappling with their own heartbreak, Rodrigo shared with Clash Music that she hopes her music will speak to any young girls who are experiencing insecurities about their ethnicity and identity similar to how the singer once did.
Rodrigo performed “Drivers License” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her first live performance didn’t happen until the Brit Awards in the United Kingdom in May 2021. She was a success there and, as a bonus, got to meet her idol Taylor Swift. Rodrigo also was a musical performer on an episode of Saturday Night Live the same month.
That November, Rodrigo was nominated for seven Grammy, including Best New Artist. The following April, she took home three trophies—cementing her place as one of the brightest rising stars in music.
New Album GUTS
Rodrigo quickly proved the success of her first album wasn’t beginner’s luck. In late June 2023, she released “Vampire,” the first single off her sophomore effort, GUTS. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, giving Rodrigo her third hit atop the chart and making her the first artist in history to have the lead singles off two career-opening albums both debut in the top spot.
In September, Rodrigo released her GUTS in full. Like the lead single, the new album debuted atop the Hot 200 and outpaced her previous album Sour with the equivalent of 320,000 albums sold in the United States. All 12 songs on the album reached the top 40 simultaneously, with “Vampire” returning to the No. 1 spot.
Rodrigo said her goal was to make GUTS a more playful project compared to Sour, which she likened to a breakup album following her split from Bassett. “This album encapsulates growing up, and figuring yourself out in the world, and the awkwardness of that,” Rodrigo told Rolling Stone. “I feel myself growing leaps and bounds.”
In November 2023, Rodrigo debuted the single “Can’t Catch Me Now” and an accompanying video for the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
Grammy Awards
Rodrigo has won three Grammy Awards out of 13 nominations, including six for the 2024 ceremony.
At the April 2022 ceremony, she took home the Best Pop Solo Performance for “drivers license” before singing the award-winning song live. Later in the night, Sour won Best Pop Vocal Album, and Rodrigo was named Best New Artist.
In November 2023, Rodrigo was nominated for six Grammys at next year’s awards. She earned her second nominations for Album, Record, and Song of the Year, and will also compete in the Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Rock Song categories. Her 2024 Grammy nominations in full are:
- Album of the Year: GUTS
- Best Pop Solo Performance: “vampire”
- Best Pop Vocal Album: GUTS
- Best Rock Song: “ballad of a homeschooled girl”
- Record of the Year: “vampire”
- Song of the Year: “vampire”
Boyfriends and Personal Life
Rodrigo is rumored to be dating actor Louis Partridge. Previously, she dated Joshua Basset, a co-star on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star who many believe was the inspiration for her son “drivers license.” Additionally, she has been romantically linked to DJ and music executive Zack Bia, producer Adam Faze, and actor Ethan Wacker.
In 2021, Rodrigo graduated from high school and moved into her own apartment in Los Angeles. That July, she visited the White House and met President Joe Biden as part of an effort to encourage young people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
In mid-2023, Rodrigo moved into an apartment in New York City. Aware of the impact fashion can have on the planet, Rodrigo opts for eco-conscious labels, as well as vintage threads, thrifting, and exchanging clothes with friends.
Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us!
The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us
Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
