Andra Day’s breakout acting role was playing the legendary jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday in the Hulu film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. The 36-year-old’s powerful performance (and vocals) have earned rave reviews since the film’s release. The actress and singer extraordinaire is now nominated for Best Actress at the 2021 Oscars.
This may be Andra’s first Oscar nomination, but she’s no stranger to awards shows. She’s now a Golden Globe winner, and her music has been nominated for several awards. HollywoodLife has rounded up 5 key things you need to know about Andra.
Andra released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, in 2015. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album in 2015, and her song “Rise Up” was nominated for Best R&B Performance. She earned a third Grammy nomination for the song “Stand Up for Something” in 2018. The official music video for “Rise Up” has over 86 million views on YouTube.
In 2010, Kai Millard Morris, who was married to Stevie Wonder at the time, saw a video of Andra performing at a California strip mall. After learning about the video, Stevie called Andra himself. “I was living in a tiny little studio apartment with my mom. I didn’t believe it,” Andra told Live Nation about the day Stevie called. Stevie helped connect Andra to a producer, and that’s when her career took off.
Andra performed her hit song “Rise Up” during President Joe Biden’s inauguration at his virtual inaugural parade. Months earlier, she sang a duet of “Greatest Love of All” with John Legend at Joe’s “Celebration for Change” live streaming fundraiser. She also sang “Rise Up” at the White House in 2016 during a rally for Hillary Clinton.