Biography
Date of Birth
26 December 1990, Pristina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia
Birth Name
Rita Sahatçiu Ora
Height
5' 6¼" (1.68 m)
Mini Biography
Rita Ora is a British singer-songwriter. She was born Rita Sahatçiu Ora in 1990 in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia, now Serbia, to Vera (Bajraktari) and Besnik Sahatçiu. She is a granddaughter of director Besim Sahatçiu. At age one, her family decided to move to the United Kingdom. She grew up in West London and attended St Cuthbert with St Matthias CE Primary School in Earls Court, following which she graduated from Sylvia Young Theatre School and then St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. She began singing from a young age.
In 2004, she appeared in the British film Spivs. Whilst never confirmed it has been theorized by multiple sources that the then young Rita had a sexual relationship with her co-star Christos-o-dodolos Zenonos. She auditioned for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One to be the British contestant for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she did not feel ready.
In 2007, Ora had her first music release when she appeared on Craig David's track entitled "Awkward" and then again in 2008 on "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder, for which she also appears in the music video. Ora began singing in bars in and around London, and in 2009 a A&R told Roc Nation about Ora, a few days after Ora flew out to New York and met Jay-Z. In 2009, Ora made a cameo on Jay-Z's video for "Young Forever" and "Over" by Drake. Ora caught the attention of Jay-Z and he quietly signed her to Roc Nation, in which she was featured in a commercial for Roc Nation + Skullcandy Aviator Headphones.
Trivia
(November 18, 2013) Rushed to the Miami hospital after she collapsed and was diagnosed and treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Ranked #73 on Maxim's "Hot 100" of 2014 list.
Her father Besnik was a pub owner and she started her singing performances from the same pub.
Counts Gwen Stefani as a major influence in terms of demeanor, and her band No Doubt's "Don't Speak" (1996) as one of her favorite songs.
Her 2016 video for Tezenis, The Silk Code, is the title of a novel that won the Locus Award for Best First Science Fiction Novel of 1999.
She was seriously considered for the role of Iris West in Justice League (2017) before Kiersey Clemons was cast.
Friends with Kate Moss, and Ed Sheeran.
Maternal grandfather, Osman Bajraktari, was the Albanian consul to Russia, then part of the USSR.
She appears in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) in the background during the scene when Harry, Ron and Hermione attend professor Trelawney's divination class. Her character can be seen wearing a Gryffindor tie. She is not credited anywhere for this small cameo.
Quotes
I never think too hard about a look. When you consider an outfit too much, that's when it goes wrong.
I walked into this industry blond with red lips, and I will leave this industry blond with red lips. Mark my words.
I really admire people who have long-distance relationships. It's an incredible achievement. I couldn't do it.
All I can do is take influences from where I was raised.
I'm most scared of failing, of disappointing people.
Women love an honest man.
Know yourself; keep your circle tight. Keep your friends and your work circle tight.
Every person has a signature. Just some people don't know it yet.
Clothes are fun. The designers have so much fun making them, you should have fun wearing them, too.
I have always liked the contrast between being blonde and having dark features.
I'm a massive fragrance fan - I think fragrance is part of someone's hygiene, and I'm a big believer in leaving an impression through scent.
Eyebrows are really important because they structure the face. In school it was funny because I was always the one walking around with tweezers plucking my girlfriends' eyebrows. I was really good; eyebrow tweezing runs in my family - my mother used to do mine, and I picked it up.
To me, it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from - if you're a good person and you got my back, I got yours.
I don't get jealous - I get suspicious.
I think I've always been fine on stage - though I get nervous beforehand. But once I'm on stage, all of that goes out of the window.
If I'm not working and getting my makeup done, that's my chance to do a hair mask and a face mask and my plucking and waxing and all of that.
I was signed at 18 and had to grow up quickly.
Before every show, I have to put perfume on. I know the crowd's not necessarily going to smell me, but when I smell good, I feel like I can dominate the room.
I have had young fascinations but never love.
I've always been into looking different.
Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe - they were myths of greatness.
I'm very private.
You can tell an honest artist from one who's just given all their songs.
The public's not stupid.
I don't know what flirting is, really. Sometimes in women, friendliness comes across as flirting. That is not what it is.
When it comes down to the music, it's just you and the microphone. It's not you and the record execs.
A New Yorker is anyone who has the guts to really live in the city.
For me, a fragrance is another way of leaving an impression on somebody.
I love eating at my dad's pub, the Queens Arms in Kilburn. It does a traditional Albanian spinach pie.
I literally touched down in Kosovo and the president, prime minister and mayor were waiting for me to get off the plane. Apparently that's unheard of. They don't wait for nobody.
Roc Nation is such an incredible, unique team, especially in the music industry. Everyone genuinely loves and cares about each other.
I don't feel like myself without the red lip. I feel like I'm taking a risk or something without it.
I admire Rihanna.
I don't know what it feels like not to have a great family support system - I was lucky to have that.
I don't really have that many judgements on things, or crazy statements that I feel like I have to put across.
It's nice to always make an effort when you get photographed.
I love the Scottish accent; it is very sexy.
Jessie J is a great, great girl. I'm a friend and have always been a fan of hers. I'm happy to see her doing her thing.
I'm not going to have a baby until I'm around 30-something.
I love masculine cuts with suits and chunky jewellery. My hair is so glam, it balances it out, and it's comfy!
I was always that girl who loved music and thought of music as an escape route.
'Roc The Life' is a song I wrote with The Dream, who made 'Umbrella,' 'Single Ladies' and loads more.
I'm scared of a lot of things.
I was always getting told off by my choir teacher for, you know, riffing when I shouldn't.
I'm very spontaneous. I go with my gut.
One day I will settle down, when I have achieved everything I wanted.
It's a terrible feeling being lonely.
Music expresses - you express yourself with music.
The best thing Jay-Z ever taught me was patience.
You can be forgotten very quickly. So I am aware that I need to stay current, keep connecting, and keep bringing things to the table... Otherwise, you can just disappear.
A music video is so different to doing a movie.
I dyed my hair blonde when I was 14. My mom was not happy. But I love being blonde.
I really have paid my dues. When I get to stay in fancy hotel suites these days, I remind myself of that.
I just want to be in a relationship.
I always remember smelling Chanel No. 5 at home - my mum used to literally pour it, and she rocked it.
I don't think I could do a reality show, no.
I love getting dressed up and glamorous for the red carpet. It makes me feel powerful and sexy!
I am committed to glamour.
I will always love red lips.
The first album I bought was the Spice Girls, ha ha.
Unfortunately, being a brand is really important nowadays.
I was in Boots buying contact lens solution, and my mobile went off. It was Jay-Z's partner at Roc Nation asking me what I was up to. He asked if I'd been to America, and I said, 'No.' Then he said, 'I'm putting you on a flight to New York tomorrow.'
To save your own hair, wigs are literally the way forward.
I just wanted to be an artist. I didn't care how or what; I just wanted to express my artistic integrity, and I wanted the world to have a vision of what I was seeing in my mind.
Beyonce is this massive star, but she's incredibly humble. But it's weird because even though I love her, she's my boss's wife.
Between sixteen and eighteen, I was singing anywhere I could, in bars or down at the pub.
Every girl, without fail, loves to look at a sexy picture of herself.
Chanel is my ultimate weakness.
Daphne Guinness was amazingly comfortable in her skin, and she has an amazing collection in fashion that I wish I could just touch.
Being a Mum is a big job.
American Apparel does great colourful basics that you can customise.
The music industry is very small.
When people come to my shows, they're like, 'I can't believe you can actually freaking sing!'
Anytime I go on Twitter, there's always the good but the bad as well.
I end up doing selfies 'cause I am so sad.
I feel like I'm a character already, as in, like, I love dressing up.
I have 20 wigs at home that I play with.
I got obsessed with makeup and makeup artists when I was young, with people like Kevyn Aucoin.
I get so nervous, I get belly pains before I go on stage.
I don't really remember much about Kosovo. I only remember growing up in London, where my parents had to basically start from scratch.
I don't vocalise things that don't deserve attention.
I don't ever use dancers, and when I do, it's literally, like, four break dancers.
I can't cook.
I don't want people to think that someone gives me something to wear, and I'll put it on.
Everyone wants a love song you can dance to.
Gwen Stefani's style and flow I just love. She is so cool to me!
Growing up in London was the best.
Fashion is this obsessive narrative that people don't understand but they can't stop looking at.
I am normally the manly-ish girl on the planet.
I love my pop music.
I love how music and fashion are so similar. We need each other.
I just love pretty things, whether it is art, a song or a pair of shoes.
I love how you can look different, and it changes your mood.
I like to call myself a 360-degree artist. I'm a musician, but I have other things I do, too.
I love the idea of being part of a campaign that captures the spirit of New York and the stories of women here, passionate about their dreams.
I never knew how small L.A. was until I started to work here.
I think it's a big deal to have a great soundtrack for a movie.
I mix my fragrances with body oils - I love body oils, so that's my little trick.
I speak fluent Kosovan.
I'm the weirdest person.
I'm just very good at pretending.
I'm a real goof-ball deep down. It's always been my thing to make people like me.
I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen and Duran Duran fan.
I'm basically just a normal girl from West London who speaks from her heart and who loves music.
I'm too busy for relationships.
I've loved music. It was my first everything, but fashion and clothes is just the next step.
If I could live in a cabaret, I would. If I could live in 'Moulin Rouge,' I would.
If you really want something, you'll make it work.
If I can help one person, why wouldn't I?
Kerastase and Bed Head have really good products.
It was my dad's idea to change my name from Sahatciu to Ora. He said it would be easier to pronounce.
It took me a while to understand that I do have a voice, and I can use it to help people.
Listen, sharing my life with people is just part of my daily routine.
My beauty icons - and this sounds cheesy - have a beauty that comes from inside.
I try to do one thing a day that makes me proud of myself.
I think music will thrive where it wants to.
I think people take the word 'feminist' really seriously, and I think people are scared to use that word.
I think that if you've got a great support system around you, and a great family, and a tight team around you, I think you don't get lost.
I used to wait in line for Jordans. That's how much of a freak I was.
I was completely shocked that Prince would even know my name.
I'd love to do a whole soundtrack to a movie.
I wouldn't want to do an average fashion line. I'd want it to be an amazing piece of art.
I watched 'Kill Bill,' like, three times.
I'd love to be the female Kanye. I think he's so cool and effortless.
Sometimes I see people writing the most ridiculous things about me.
People always ask me: 'Do you have black in you? Do you have Spanish in you?'
People like Prince don't have to care about anything, but they care because they want music for the future to be great.
Social media is so influential now.
One time I tried to use the bathroom in the dark, and I missed the toilet, and I fell on the floor.
My first tour sold out in Glasgow, and they were one of the loudest. I couldn't hear myself.
My mum and my dad are the sweetest couple.
My dad took on every job he could get. He worked like mad. But then, at some point, he had saved up enough to open his first pub.
Nothing comfortable is worth wearing to the Met Ball.
My childhood was great, my family was great. I wasn't in a mansion, but we made it work.
When I was a kid, I'd spray paint my hair, cut clothes up.
When I perform, I usually wear wigs because I love them.
Twitter... can ruin your life.
What I'll remember about New York is growing up really fast.
To me, British fashion has a story. It has history, and I feel it's very much about our culture.
The worst thing is when a guy just looks awkward. It's not attractive.
The album is never finished until it's on the shelves!
There are bigger queens of the selfie, but I'm up there.
Streetwear for me is what I was raised wearing in London, and my style influences growing up were always people who wore streetwear.
There was a point in school when I was, like, thirteen, that I didn't feel comfortable at all.
You have to come to terms with loving your body.
When you perform, you can convey emotions differently, and your look can reflect each of those emotions.
When your time comes, you need to grab it with both hands.
You always have to sacrifice something when you want to achieve something.
Women love an honest man. An honest man that isn't afraid to say, 'Men get hurt too.' And a lot of men don't admit that.
To me, I have my friends who I've known my whole life, and I can count them on one hand. They're people I went to school with, my mum's friends' daughters. You know?
When you're involved with someone for a while, and they decided to express their feelings to the public - that's not my personal way of therapy, but I guess everyone takes split-ups differently.
When I was younger, I did my first audition at 'Eurovision.' I was about 17. After my first audition, I blacked out; I was just like, 'I can't do this.' I'm not knocking it or anything - it's been around for years. I'm just very, very happy I made that decision myself. I think that's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
My dad wanted me to go down a more academic route. He is very much about sticking to the rule book and sticking to the blueprint of a successful career.
It was so much fun working with Rimmel. We're inspired by many of the same things: fashion, color, sounds, style, life in general, and London in particular.
Without my music, no doors would have opened, so I am forever grateful, and I am always going to be singing. But yeah, when the other doors open, why not walk through?
You know what a wifey means? It's like your other half. Like when you get married, like, that's your wife!
I'm really excited to be chosen as a VEVO LIFT artist. It's a great opportunity to reach millions more music fans with my sound and let them see the real Rita.
You have to take care of your body.
Conquering America for a U.K. artist is incredible because that's what everybody wants and dreams about. The accomplishment is dominating a market which you aren't familiar with.
You should communicate with your other one. Understanding what they are on about is pretty key.
I think the good thing about Macklemore is that he is very precise about what he gets involved in. As you can tell, he's very passionate about what he puts his name on, because he talks about things people don't usually talk about, and his concepts are very, very passionate.
I've been going to Bicester Village since I was young. My mum and dad really loved that place, and I always used to stock up on clothes. I love the fact that it supports great British designers.
I used to do ballet all the time, and I do this ballet workout: it is an amazing thing called Barrecore. It is like pulsing. It turns your legs into, like, jelly, and you feel like a Bambi; you lose so much control over your body because you're pulsing so much.
In this industry, all the heads of labels are men, but every artist has to prove themselves, regardless of their sex. I have always been very vocal about the women sticking together.
I'm like a dude. Jordans are my favorite. I wear them all the time for shows. I can get girly-girly when I want to, but I can't perform in heels. I would bust my face open on stage, and we don't want that.
Glamour's always special to me; they gave me one of my first U.K. covers, and I was so excited when I found out I got a cover for it, so, I always, always have a special place in my heart for 'Glamour.
I don't know how 'X Factor' works. I was only there as a guest judge for a day. But I watched 'The Voice' a lot; I respected how it came across on TV, and I love the freedom we get as coaches to do what we want.
A steamer is like an inhaler, so you can inhale this oil or frankincense or eucalyptus. Before I go onstage, I spend half an hour taking in that steam, and it saves my life!
Some people may look at you almost like a fantasy at times, you know; some people don't think you're real. Because people forget that celebrities are humans too, sometimes.
I have a few properties, some in the U.K., some in the States, some in Kosovo. It's a nice little empire - I'm trying to create something so my family can be all right.
