Biography
Who is Kimbra?
Early life and musical beginnings
Kimbra Lee Johnson was born in Hamilton, New Zealand. Her father worked as the head doctor at the University of Waikato health center, while her mother was an orthopaedic nurse. She showed an interest in music early, writing her own songs by the age of 10. Her father purchased her a guitar when she was 12, leading to several years of lessons.
While attending Hillcrest High School, she performed in the jazz choir called Scat. She also gained early stage experience by competing in the Rockquest music competition for three years, securing second place in 2004. Her early recording titled It Takes Time was showed by a group called Play It Strange. She appeared on television as a child, creating a music video for the show What Now.
Career start and move to Australia
As a young performer, she sang the national anthem of New Zealand at the 2002 NPC rugby union final in front of a big crowd. In 2007, she received the Juice TV award for Best Breakthrough music video for her song Simply on My Lips. This achievement brought her to the attention of industry professionals like Mark Richardson.
She relocated to Melbourne in 2008 to work with the independent label Forum 5. Her first single with the label, Settle Down, arrived in June 2010 after years of development. She collaborated with François Tétaz on the track, which received attention from bloggers and critics. Following this, she provided vocals for the track I Look to You by the group Miami Horror.
Vows and breakthrough success
Her debut album, Vows, arrived in 2011 and saw success in Australia and New Zealand. It featured tracks such as Cameo Lover, Good Intent, and Two Way Street. The album reached the top five in her home country and Australia. Her profile grew significantly when she featured on the song Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye.
This track topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned multiple accolades. In 2013, she and Gotye received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This milestone made her one of the few singers from New Zealand to ever win a Grammy.
Later albums and artistic projects
Following her Grammy success, she moved to Los Angeles to focus on her second studio album, The Golden Echo, released in 2014. She continued to release music throughout the following decade. Her third studio album, Primal Heart, came out in 2018. She followed this with a fourth album titled A Reckoning in early 2023.
By 2024, she released a fifth studio album called Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) which involved various collaborators. Throughout her career, she has supported non-profit work, including serving as an ambassador for the charity organization So They Can starting in 2013. She has also contributed to soundtracks, including the song With My Hands for the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie.
Birthday and age
Kimbra was born on March 27, 1990, which makes Kimbra 36 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aries sign. Kimbra shares the date with 43 other famous people.
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