Biography
Who is H.E.R.?
Early life and musical beginnings
Born in Vallejo, California, Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her father played in a cover band and often hosted practice sessions in their family home. Her mother's relatives also performed music as guitarists, drummers, and vocalists at local karaoke events. These family gatherings served as early musical influences. She attended Angelo Rodriguez High School.
By age ten, she was performing on piano at the Apollo Theater in New York City. She covered Aretha Franklin's song Freeway of Love during that 2007 appearance. She also performed on television programs including Maury, The View, and Good America. Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment managed her early career. At age twelve, she sang a tribute to Alicia Keys at the ASCAP Awards and competed on Radio Disney's The Next BIG Thing.
Signing with RCA and early releases
In 2011, she signed a recording contract with RCA Records via J Records. Her manager Jeff Robinson helped arrange this deal. She initially released music under her birth name, including the 2014 single Something to Prove.
In 2016, she adopted the moniker H.E.R., which stands for Having Everything Revealed. She released the extended play H.E.R. Volume 1 that September with production by David Swagg R'Celious Harris. The project gained industry attention. Artists such as Usher, Tyrese, Pusha T, and Wyclef Jean provided support. Labelmate Alicia Keys shared the music on social media. Rihanna also posted a clip featuring the track Focus. NPR listed the debut EP as an essential R&B release. Rolling Stone included the artist in its roundup of musicians to watch in 2017.
Awards and artistic growth
The compilation album titled H.E.R. Arrived in 2017. It collected songs from her first three EPs and earned five Grammy Award nominations. The project won Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance. Her follow-up compilation, I Used to Know Her, arrived in 2019. It included the song Hard Place, which received nominations for Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
In 2021, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Fight for You from the film Judas and the Black Messiah. That same year, she won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for I Can't Breathe. Her debut studio album, Back of My Mind, was released in June 2021 and reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart.
Acting projects and recent work
Beyond music, she has pursued roles in film and television. In 2022, she won a Children's and Family Emmy Award for her work on the animated series We the People. She appeared as Belle in the Disney television special Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.
In 2023, she starred as Mary Squeak Agnes in the film adaptation of The Color Purple. This performance earned nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics' Choice Movie Awards. She also voiced characters in animated projects like Forgotten Island. In 2024, she performed on electric guitar during Usher's set at Super Bowl LVIII. She recently signed a management deal with Lighthouse Management and Media after a legal dispute with her previous management company, MBK Entertainment.
Birthday and age
H.E.R. was born on June 27, 1997, which makes H.E.R. 29 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. H.E.R. shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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