Olivia Rodrigo picks up 3 Grammys: a look back at her incredible transformation
Not only did teenage pop sensation take home the Grammy for Best New Artist, she also walked away with two other coveted awards: Pop Solo Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album for 'Sour'.
Olivia Rodrigo's name is well known thanks to her chart topping hits like ‘Drivers License’ and 'Good 4U.' What's the story of this young star?
Olivia is a Pisces who celebrated her 19th birthday in February. She is of Filipino descent from her father's side, and her mother is German/Irish. She was interested in acting from a young age and at six years old started acting and singing classes.
A sweet girl from Murrieta, a city in California, Olivia moved to LA when she landed her role in the Disney Channel series, Bizaardvark. She played guitarist Paige Olvera from 2016 to 2019. During this time Olivia certainly started to make a name for herself.
Ethan Wacker was Olivia’s co-star in 'Bizaardvark' and they had always got on incredibly well. In July 2018 they took their friendship to the next stage and in January 2019 they declared on Instagram that they had been dating for six months. Fans were equally shocked as they were excited.
However, it seemed that everything wasn’t going perfectly as, by August 2019, they had stopped posting pictures of each other and actually deleted some of their previous photos together. Although it is still not known as to why the two split, they seem to be on good terms and have no bad blood between them. Friends first and last.
Olivia really made herself known when she landed her role as Nini in 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,' that follows a group of friends from the real-life East High school (where the original movie was filmed) who are working towards their first production of ‘High School Musical’.
Photo: Disney
In pure HSM style, the show is filled with singing, dancing, friendships, rivalries and romance. Rodrigo really shone in the series and showed herself to be an incredibly talented actress, singer and songwriter.
One of our favorite Olivia Rodrigo tweets is when she let her fans know that someone in 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ let her write a song for the show. Olivia was publicly very excited to share the song, ‘All I Want’, with viewers and her fans. It turned out to be Nini’s standout song in the show and was a huge success - certified Gold in the US. In addition, the songwriter’s first masterpiece was streamed over 187 million times on Spotify alone.
Photo: Twitter
Olivia didn’t stop at just one song. She wrote two songs for the first season of the Disney show. Her second, ‘Just for a Moment,’ Rodrigo made with the help of co-star Joshua Basset. It appears on the episode ‘Opening Night’.
Photo: Disney
Was it inevitable that these two would end up dating? Of course since the very first episode aired in November 2019 they had a great chemistry and fans speculated about their love. While no one actually knows if they even had a relationship beyond being friends, we do know that they had this spark both on and off-screen which led to the rumors. Life has moved on, however, and Joshua seems to now be dating Sabrina Carpenter.
Olivia Rodrigo is a Directioner. In fact, so much so that she wrote One Direction fan fiction. In an interview with Big Top 40, Olivia disclosed to fans: "I used to write One Direction fan fiction when I was in middle-school. Just like cheesy: 'Oh Harry proposes to you and asks you to be his wife.’”
Photo: Instagram
Olivia Rodrigo is also a huge fan of Harry Styles. Which teenage girl isn’t? Olivia attended Styles’ Hollywood Bowl concert and joyfully held an over-sized cardboard cut out of the singer at the show.
Photo: Instagram
Rodrigo signed with Interscope and Geffen Records in 2020, a major record label, who also represent stars such as Gwen Stefani, Ellie Goulding and Lady Gaga.
Olivia Rodrigo had a great year in 2021, after she released her second single 'good 4 u.' It became the biggest chart-topping single of the UK in 2021 and reached number one for five consecutive weeks. She is original and draws inspiration from her favourite artist - including Taylor Swift.
Photo: Music video 'good 4 u'
Olivia Rodrigo has quite shamelessly declared on social media and in interviews how much of a fan she is of Taylor Swift and Lorde. She states that they are her idols and biggest inspirations. Rodrigo has declared herself as "the biggest [fan of Taylor Swift] in the whole world”.
Photo: Instagram
When Taylor Swift released her number one album, ‘Folklore’, in 2020, she actually sent Olivia the cardigan from her ‘Cardigan’ merchandise. She also publicly congratulated Olivia on her ‘Driver's License’ success and commented, "I say that's my baby and I'm proud" on her Instagram page.
Photo: Instagram
Olivia’s style is fresh and young. In the summer she wears thin-strapped body-tight dresses and t-shirts and in the colder weather she sports colorful jumpers, trousers/jeans and an array of jackets. One look that Olivia does really like to return to is a red lip - she’s seen on Instagram on many occasions looking great with bright red lips.
Many commented on her change of style at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards - a 90s throwback done to perfection - which she has since adopted. Whether it's sleek dresses or crop tops and jeans, Rodrigo pretty much nails it every time.
Olivia Rodrigo has proved to the world that her opinions matter and earned a place as an Institute Speaker and Panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. She is a teenager with a lot of opinions and is very articulate in her views. She already has an extensive CV at a young age. (Remember, her birthdate was February 20, 2003!)
Olivia Rodrigo is a strong promoter of the Black Lives Matter movement. She is often tweeting about racial injustice and shocking news stories to follow on this theme. Olivia retweets many activists on her Twitter page and gives the movement a lot of publicity.
Photo: Twitter
Olivia released her debut single "Drivers License" in January 2021 and it broke the record at Spotify for the most single-day streams for a non holiday song. It made Rodrigo the first artist born in the 21st-century to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Photo: Twitter
Olivia sings about getting her license in her single “Drivers License,” only to snap up the boy she wanted. But she has actually been able to drive since July 2020. She posted on her Instagram at the time, “Happy girl in the DMV parking lot because I (finally) got my drivers license!”
Everybody needs a fandom. Recently, Olivia reach out to hers and finally gave them a name - Livies. They now have a twitter page called @LiviesHQ which keeps fans up-to-date on her performances, tv appearances and even some backstage glimpses of Olivia when filming/recording.
Photo: Twitter
Olivia and her grandmother keep in touch the old fashioned way. She writes to her grandmother, who lives in Wisconsin, handwritten letters that keep her updated on everything going on. Olivia has a very strong bond with her grandmother and, although a vanishing form of communication, the older generation really look forward to receiving their updates in the post, especially if modern technology is hard to grasp.
According to seventeen magazine, Rodrigo had been dating 24-year-old producer Adam Faze since the two were spotted at an industry event in June 2021. They were then seen kissing on top of a car in Los Angeles in July. She is now, as the magazine tells us, single.
According to Popbuzz, Olivia's net worth before signing her record deal was around $500,000. Now, according to Celebrity Net Worth, Olivia is currently estimated to have a net worth of $5 million. She may be young, but she certainly is smart when it comes to spending her cash.