Nicole Scherzinger (/niˈkoʊl ˈʃɜrzɪŋər/; born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente; June 29, 1978) is an American singer, dancer, actress and television personality. After reaching one-hit wonder success with girl group Eden's Crush, she signed with Interscope Records in 2003 as a member of the Pussycat Dolls, a burlesque troupe-turned-recording act. During her time as lead singer, Scherzinger generated controversy concerning the emphasis of her role in the group. The group established themselves as a prominent girl group with the release of their debut album, PCD (2005) which spawned the number one hits "Don't Cha" and "Stickwitu". A hiatus saw the cancellation of a solo album.

The group's second and final studio album, Doll Domination (2008) spawned the worldwide hits "When I Grow Up" and "I Hate This Part" and a collaboration with A. R. Rahman on a pop version of "Jai Ho" entitled "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" from Slumdog Millionaire (2008), established Scherzinger as a solo artist. Following her departure, Scherzinger won season ten of Dancing with the Stars (2010). In 2011 she released her long-delayed debut studio album, Killer Love to moderate success and featured singles "Don't Hold Your Breath" and "Right There". Scherzinger left Interscope Records in late 2013, signed a multi-million dollar contract with Sony Music Entertainment and released her second studio album, Big Fat Lie (2014). From 2012 to 2013, Scherzinger served as a judge on the UK version of The X Factor and won with James Arthur in her first year; Scherzinger was also a judge for one season on the American X Factor in 2011. As an actress she appeared in films such as Men in Black 3 (2011) and received critical acclaim for her performances in Rent (2010) and her West End debut starring as Grizabella for the revival of the musical Cats (2014–15) for which she received a nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Throughout a career spanning 13 years, she has had 3 UK number one singles, sold 10 million albums and over 37 million singles worldwide and 16 million records as a solo artist, and a further 54 million with Pussycat Dolls, making the group one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Since her first chart entry in 2005, Scherzinger has also scored 20 top 20 hits on the UK Singles Chart. Outside of her work in the entertainment industry, Nicole is an Ambassador for UNICEF and a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics and is involved in charitable activities.