I know I’m a queen but I don’t need no crown – Lizzo
If you’re a pop music fan, you’ve likely heard Lizzo’s hit singles ‘Tempo,’ ‘Juice,’ and ‘Truth Hurts.’ Lizzo is a singer and songwriter with a net worth of $12 million. She’s one of the biggest names in pop music, with a huge following online.
Her studio albums’ Lizzobangers’ and ‘Big Grrrl Small World’ were smash hits, and she’s a top influencer on Instagram, with nearly 13 million followers on the platform. The singer also has numerous appearances in Hollywood movies, recently starring alongside the legendary actress Jennifer Lopez in ‘Hustlers.’
Lizzo: The Facts
Net Worth: | $12 Million |
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📆 DOB: | Apr 27, 1988 |
🌎 Country of Origin: | United States of America |
💲 Source of Wealth: | Pop Star |
✅ Updated: | 2023 |
Lizzo came from humble beginnings to be one of the biggest stars in pop music. She’s gained notoriety for her rapid weight loss, with the ‘body beautiful’ community shaming her for losing weight. However, Lizzo continues to grow her audience and earn through album sales, touring, and endorsement deals with top brands.
Lizzo – The Early Years
Born on April 27, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael and Shari Johnson-Jefferson, Lizzo’s real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson. The family moved from Detroit to Houston, Texas, when she was ten years old. During her early years, Lizzo received training in the flute with her music teacher Claudia Momen.
She started rapping for her friends when she was 14, forming a group called ‘Cornrow Clique’ with her high school buddies. She attended Alief Elsik High School and enrolled at the University of Houston, studying classical music as her major.
Her father passed away in 2009 after the singer turned 21. She took the loss hard, living out of her car for a year as she tried to penetrate the music industry. After experiencing little success, Lizzo moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she formed the electro soul-pop group’ Lizzo & the Larva Ink.’
She also founded the three-piece female hip-hop group ‘The Chalice,’ where she released the 2012 album ‘We Are the Chalice.’
Lizzo – Career
Lizzo got her big break in 2013 with the release of her first studio album, ‘Lizzobangers.’ The record included the hit singles, ‘Faded,’ ‘Batches & Cookies,’ and ‘Paris.’ Following the album’s success, Lizzo dropped ‘BoyTrouble’ from Prince’s album ‘Plectrumelectrum,’ featuring in the track alongside her former bandmates from Chalice.
Lizzo released her second studio album, ‘Big Grrrl Small World’ on December 11, 2015. She shot music videos for the songs ‘My Skin’ and ‘Humanize.’ The singer signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, releasing her first EP, ‘Coconut Oil.’
Early in her career, the singer opened for Har Mar Superstar, collaborating on several songs with the artist. She performed ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ with St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Lizzo also featured on ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ in 2014 as a musical guest.
The album was a change in direction from her hip-hop roots, with the EP discussing the body positivity movement and the importance of self-love. The single ‘Good as Hell’ on the album became Lizzo’s biggest hit to date, peaking at number 44 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
In 2019, the singer released the single ‘Juice,’ before dropping her third studio album, ‘Cuz I Love You.’ The album was Lizzo’s commercial breakthrough in the industry, debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 and peaking at number four.
The artist’s sudden appeal to the masses saw her previous 2017 release ‘Truth Hurts’ gain popularity with her new fans, with Lizzo adding it to the deluxe copy of ‘Cuz I Love You.’ The song soared through the charts, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent seven weeks at the top.
Lizzo was booked for top events as her fame grew, including sharing the stage alongside Harry Styles at Coachella in 2022. She also performed at the Glastonbury Festival, the BET Awards, and the Indianapolis and Sacramento pride festivals.
December 2019 saw Lizzo as a guest on Saturday Night Live, and the following year the singer headlined FOMO Festival performing a show at the Sydney Opera House. Lizzo’s biggest cash cow is her music and the money she makes from touring.
According to the RIAA, Lizzo hit 16.5 million in sales in digital singles, making her one of the top-earning artists in the industry. Lizzo’s most profitable tour was ‘Cuz I Love You Too’ in 2019. The artist grossed 10.8 million from 243,789 ticket sales.
Lizzo – Music Awards
Lizzo gained popularity towards the end of 2018, and 2019 was her breakout year in the music industry. The singer gained a huge audience fast, with her incredible success seeing her nominated for ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Push Artist of the Year’ at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
Lizzo opened the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, performing ‘Truth Hurts’ and ‘Cuz I Love You.’ She was nominated for eight awards at the show, being the most-nominated artist of the year.
The singer won three of the eight awards, including ‘Best Traditional R&B Performance,’ ‘Best Urban Contemporary Album,’ and ‘Best Pop Solo Performance.’ Lizzo has also won awards at Billboard Music Awards, BET Awards, and the Soul Train Music Awards.
Lizzo – Film Career
Lizzo also has appearances in blockbuster Hollywood movies alongside A-listers. She made her screen debut voicing the character of ‘Lydia’ in ‘UglyDolls’ in 2019. Later in 2019, she appeared alongside Jenifer Lopez and Cardi B.
Lizzo – Endorsements
Lizzo has an incredibly successful career but also earns a significant income through her brand endorsements and sponsorship deals. Some of the top companies she works with include the following brands.
Amazon First-Look Deal
Lizzo signed a deal with the streaming giant Amazon in August 2020. Apparently, she received the agreement because she was working on a web series, ‘Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.’ There’s no information on how much money the singer earned from the deal.
Dove Brand Partnership
Lizzo signed an endorsement deal with Dove in April 2020, using the platform to push her ‘body positivity’ message and image to her fans and the broader female market. In something of a shock camping, the singer appeared nude for several photos used in the advertisements for Dove products.
Hydrow Investment
Lizzo announced a partnership with the up-and-coming fitness brand and app ‘Hydrwo’ in September 2021.
Logitech Endorsement Partnership
Lizzo signed an endorsement deal with Logitech in 2022 to release her new single.
Lizzo has a thriving endorsement business. Some other companies involved in sponsorship deals with the dinger include Urban Decay, Absolut Vodka, Google Pixel 6, and Quay.
Lizzo – Yitty
Her partnership with Quay saw the singer launch her brand’ Yitty.’ According to the singer, “Don’t sleep on Yitty, a ‘revolutionary new shapewear brand’ in partnership with Fabletics Inc. made for ‘every damn body.'”
The singer decided to launch the athletic wear brand for plus-sized women after she felt that the media was shaming her for being large. She decided to “inflict some sort of pain upon it to fit into an archetype of beauty” in a Vanity Fair interview.
The brand launched in April 2022, featuring an ad campaign starring the singer wearing her clothing. The Vanity Fair interview recorded the artist saying the following about the launch of Yitty.
“Because of this, I’ve been wearing shapewear for a long time, maybe since I was in fifth or sixth grade. I was tired of seeing this sad, restrictive shapewear that literally no one wanted to wear. I had an epiphany like, Who can actually do something about this? I decided to take on the challenge of allowing women to feel unapologetically good about themselves again.”
The brand saw good sales and recognition in the market, thanks to Lizzo promoting it through her social media accounts. The collection is available on Yitty.com, with selected items on the ‘Fabletics’ website and Fabletics stores.
According to Forbes, the global shapewear market is valued at $1.9 billion, with estimates of it reaching $3.9 billion in sales by 2028. Lizzo named the brand after her aunt. She revealed the following in an interview with Forbes.
“Yitty is a nickname my auntie gave me when I was young. She was a full-figured woman with bold, beautiful energy and one of the coolest people ever. I wanted that energy in this brand.”
Lizzo – Real Estate
Lizzo owns a portfolio of high-end real estate. House digest reports the singer’s Los Angeles property is worth a staggering $26 million, but there’s no information on if she owns the house or if it’s on a mortgage.
It’s a magnificent home, sporting an indoor-outdoor entertaining space, a personal Hall of Fame, and a massive walk-in closet. The singer also has a short-term rental in Palm Desert, CA, valued at $5,000 per night, according to TMZ.
The property sits perched on a slope, with the modern desert home boating a helipad, infinity-edge swimming pool, and amazing views showcased on Lizzo’s IG account.
Lizzo – Reality TV Star
Lizzo is an accomplished movie actress who also appeared on reality TV. The singer has a reality show, ‘Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.’ It debuted on Amazon Prime Video, being APVs most-watched reality TV show in March 2022. The show revolves around Lizzo searching for backup dancers to join her tour. The contestants battle it out to gain Lizzo’s favor and a chance to be seen under the spotlight on Lizzo’s stage.
Lizzo – Personal Life
Since bursting into the spotlight, Lizzo has advocated for the ‘body positivity movement.’ The singer/actress takes to the stage, TV, and industry-related events to promote her brand of self-love, confidence, and body positivity.
Her reality TV show, ‘Big Grrrls,’ only features plus-sized women as her backup dancers. Lizzo is also an outspoken supporter of the LGBTQI+ community. The singer/actress believes in equal rights for all, regardless of their sexual orientation or body type.
She has a strong fanbase in the community, referring to her queer fans as ‘Lizzbians.’ The online publication ‘Queerty’ named the singer a “trailblazing individual who actively ensures society remains ng towards equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people” when commemorating the 50th anniversary of the ‘Stonewall riots’ in 2019.
Lizzo is ambiguous about her sexuality, stating she “doesn’t ascribe to just one thing.”
Lizzo – Weight Loss
Despite Lizzo claiming she’s happy with her body and is a big supporter of the body positivity movement, she decided to diet and drop some weight to be healthier. She started her diet weighing a staggering 308 pounds (140kg).
Throughout caloric restriction, Lizzo lost more than 60lbs. However, the singer took some serious heat from the body positivity community. Many fans told her she was backing off her claim of ‘self-love,’ claiming that she desperately wanted to lose weight throughout her career but didn’t have the self-discipline to do so.
The body positivity community felt betrayed by the singer’s hypocrisy in her mission. However, it didn’t seem to affect her reputation or her fanbase. In 2022, Lizzo was roasted on stage by comedian Aries Spears, but Lizzo didn’t appreciate the comedy, posturing her fans to cancel the comedian for body shaming her.
Lizzo Quotes
Woo girl, need to kick off your shoes / Got to take a deep breath, time to focus on you (“Good As Hell”)
If I’m shinin’, everybody gonna shine (yeah, I’m goals) / I was born like this, don’t even gotta try (“Juice”)
Feeling good as hell (“Good As Hell”)
If he don’t love you anymore / Just walk your fine ass out the door (“Good As Hell”)
Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me what you see / It’s that, oh my God, it’s lookin’ heavenly (“Scuse Me”)
I am my inspiration, I am my inspiration (“Water me”)
I don’t see nobody else / ‘Scuse me while I feel myself (“Scuse Me”)
You know you a star, you can touch the sky (“Good As Hell”)
Cause I’m my own soulmate (“Soulmate”)
Ooh, work my body like / Ooh, I know you want it like / Ooh, but I don’t do this for you (“Fitness”)