Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential singers of her generation. Hill is credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rapping and for bringing hip hop and neo soul to popular music. She is known for being a member of Fugees and her solo album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998), which became one of the best-selling albums of all-time. Hill has won many awards, including eight Grammy Awards, the most for a female rapper.
While attending high school, Hill starred in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) alongside Whoopi Goldberg; and was approached by Pras Michel to join his band the Fugees, which his cousin Wyclef Jean soon joined. The Fugees released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994) and the Grammy Award-winning The Score (1996), the latter of which sold twenty two million copies worldwide, and spawned the hit single "Killing Me Softly", with Hill on lead vocals. Afterwards, she began to focus on solo projects; writing and producing "A Rose Is Still a Rose" by Aretha Franklin, as well as featuring on the songs "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" by Nas and Guantanamera by Wyclef Jean. Her tumultuous romantic relationship with Jean led to the split of the band in 1997, after which she began work on her solo album.
Hill's sole solo studio album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998) was released to widespread acclaim. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and became the first album by a female rapper to top the chart. It has been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. The lead single "Doo Wop (That Thing)", debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the first song by a female rapper to top the chart; and made Hill the first artist to have debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 with their first entries on each chart. At the 41st Grammy Awards, the album earned a record setting ten nominations, the most a woman has received for one ceremony. Hill won five awards that night, including Album of the Year, becoming the first hip hop artist to win the award. The album has since been inducted into the Library of Congress.
Soon afterward Hill dropped out of the public eye.