Cardi B

Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, known professionally as Cardi B, born October 11, 1992, in The Bronx, New York, to a Trinidadian father and a Dominican mother, is one of the most commercially dominant and culturally influential female rappers of her generation, a performer whose rise from a stripper in the Bronx to an Oscar-contending film presence and Grammy-winning chart phenomenon represents one of the most unlikely and compelling success stories in modern entertainment. Raised in Highbridge, the Bronx, she struggled financially through her teens and early twenties, working as a cashier and later as a stripper to support herself, an experience she has discussed openly and with characteristic lack of shame in interviews that reshaped the conversation about sex work and economic survival. She rose to fame through Instagram videos and the VH1 reality series Love and Hip Hop: New York (2015-2017), building a devoted following for her unfiltered, comedic, and ferociously candid personality. She signed with Atlantic Records and released Bodak Yellow (2017), which became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and made her the first female rapper in nineteen years — since Lauryn Hill — to top the chart with a solo track. Invasion of Privacy (2018) debuted at number one and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album — making her the first solo female artist to win the award. WAP (2020), featuring Megan Thee Stallion, became one of the most-discussed songs of the decade and broke Spotify's first-day streaming record. Her film career launched with Hustlers (2019) and F9 (2021), and she received Golden Globe buzz for the former. Her combination of authenticity, humor, and work ethic has made her one of the most significant figures in hip-hop of the 2020s.