Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she travelled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha. With his help, she was signed to LaFace Records, and has gone on to become a successful artist, having sold more than seven million albums worldwide and had numerous top ten hits.In 2004 Ciara released her debut album Goodies which spawned the number one hits "Goodies" and "1, 2 Step", selling over five million copies worldwide and certified triple platinum in the United States. The album earned her four nominations at the 2004 Grammy Awards. In 2006, she released her second album, Ciara: The Evolution which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and included the hits "Get Up" and "Promise". Her third album Fantasy Ride released in May 2009, included the worldwide top ten hit single "Love Sex Magic" with Justin Timberlake which earned her a nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained five Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles including a number one. Prior to the release of her third album, Ciara has sold over seven million albums worldwide, and as of June 2010, she has sold more than 4.3 million albums and 6.9 million digital tracks in the United States alone.
Ciara was born in Austin, Texas on October 25, 1985 as the only child of Jackie and Carlton Harris. Since her father was in the United States Army, throughout her childhood, Ciara grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada. In speaking of this, Ciara states that while she hated to lose good friends, this helps her in her career when she has to travel all over the world. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child and Janet Jackson perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music, and cites superstar siblings Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson as her biggest inspiration. Ciara is quoted to have reached what she considered "a career pinnacle" when she recorded with Janet Jackson on Jackson's 2008 Discipline album.
