Melissa Viviane "Lizzo" Jefferson (b. April 27, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and flutist.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, she later moved to Houston, Texas, where she began performing before moving to Minneapolis, where she began her recording career in hip hop music. Prior to signing with Nice Life and Atlantic Records, Lizzo released two studio albums—Lizzobangers (2013) and Big Grrrl Small World (2015). Lizzo's first major-label EP, Coconut Oil, was released in 2016.
Lizzo attained mainstream success with the release of her third studio album, Cuz, I Love You (2019), which peaked inside the top five of the US Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles "Juice" and "Tempo". The deluxe version of the album included Lizzo's 2017 single "Truth Hurts", which became a viral sleeper hit, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 two years after its initial release, also marking the longest-leading solo song by a female rapper. Around this time, her 2016 single "Good as Hell" also climbed the charts, reaching the top three on the Hot 100 and top ten of the UK Singles Chart. Lizzo received eight nominations at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, the most for any artist that year, including Album of the Year for the deluxe version of Cuz I Love You, Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Truth Hurts", as well as Best New Artist. She eventually won the awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Pop Solo Performance for "Truth Hurts", and Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song "Jerome".
Aside from singing and rapping, Lizzo has also worked as an actor: she served as a voice performer in the animated film UglyDolls (2019) and appeared in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers (2019). In 2019, Time named Lizzo as "Entertainer of the Year" for her meteoric rise and contribution to music. In addition to her three Grammy Awards, she has also won a Billboard Music Award, a BET Award, and two Soul Train Music Awards.
She made her musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on December 21, 2019, the tenth episode and the Christmas show of Saturday Night Live's 45th season, which is the final episode of 2019, hosted by former Ebersol-era cast member Eddie Murphy, which he returned to Studio 8H to host for the 3rd time and his first appearance in 35 years, 5 months and 19 days. She performed "Truth Hurts" and a holiday-themed remix of "Good as Hell".
She returned to Saturday Night Live for her 2nd musical guest appearance, as well as hosting for the first time on April 16, 2022, the eighteenth episode of Saturday Night Live's 47th season, where she performed "About Damn Time" and "Special". She introduces herself for the first song. Her mother Shari Johnson-Jefferson appears in the audience in the opening monologue and introduces her daughter's second performance.
She returned to Saturday Night Live again for her 3rd musical guest appearance on December 17, 2022, the ninth episode and the Christmas show of Saturday Night Live's 48th season, hosted by actor Austin Butler, star of the 2022 hit biographical drama film Elvis, where she performed "Break Up Twice" for her first set and covers Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for her second.
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