Christina Aguilera Biography

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Staten Island, New York and raised in Rochester and Wexford, Pennsylvania, she appeared on the television series Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club in her early years. After recording "Reflection", the theme for Disney's 1998 film Mulan, Aguilera signed with RCA Records and rose to prominence with her 1999 teen pop self-titled debut album. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". A year later, she released her first Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo, which sold over three million copies worldwide, and the holiday album My Kind of Christmas. Displeased with her lack of input in her image and music, Aguilera assumed creative control for her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002), which draws influences from a variety of genres including soul, hip hop, Latin, and rock. The album spawned the top-ten singles "Dirrty" and "Beautiful", and earned a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Beautiful".