Biography
Who is Claudia Leitte?
Early life and real name
Claudia Leitte: Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio was born on July 10, 1980, in São Gonçalo, Brazil. Her family lived in São Paulo and were visiting São Gonçalo at the time of her birth. Within five days of her birth, the family moved to Salvador, Bahia, which was her mother's hometown. She grew up alongside her younger brother, Cláudio Junior.
During her youth, Claudia worked as a kids party entertainer and attended church religion classes while in high school. She would often skip church to attend dance and acting classes. Before becoming a full-time professional singer, she tried studying law, communications, and music in college before eventually dropping out. She worked small singing gigs at bars and festivals at night.
How Claudia became famous
Claudia got her start in the music industry as a backing vocalist for local singer Nando Borges. During the 1990s, she sang in various groups including Forró Violeta, Companhia do Pagode, and Nata do Samba. In late 2001, she helped create the Axé music band Babado Novo alongside guitarist Sérgio Rocha and other musicians. The group signed with Universal and Poly Music to release their debut self-titled album in 2003.
Babado Novo achieved a string of consecutive diamond-certified hit singles in Brazil and multiple golden and platinum albums. Their songs became classics of Carnival festivities. After selling over five million records and releasing several chart-topping hits with the band, Claudia announced her departure in late 2007 to launch a solo career.
Solo career and major hits
On December 18, 2007, Claudia released her solo debut single titled Exttravasa. The track became heavily played on radio and earned a double diamond record certification with over one million digital downloads sold. She performed her final concert with Babado Novo in February 2008 and kicked off her solo career with a live recording at Copacabana Beach in front of a big crowd.
She released her debut solo album Ao Vivo em Copacabana in 2008, which received gold and triple platinum certifications. In 2010, she released her studio album As Máscaras, which topped Billboard's Brazilian Albums chart and earned a Latin Grammy nomination. She also recorded the song We Are One with Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Television work and other projects
Aside from her music career, Claudia served as a coach and mentor on the Brazilian television shows The Voice, The Voice Kids, and The Voice +. Across the variations of the show where she was featured, she achieved two winning seasons as a coach.
She has also participated in major endorsement deals and released commercial products, including fragrances and beauty campaigns. With millions of followers across social media platforms, she remains one of the most prominent female musical acts in Brazil and Latin America.
Birthday and age
Claudia Leitte was born on July 10, 1980, which makes Claudia 46 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Claudia shares the date with 37 other famous people.
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