Rita Ora

“I never think too hard about a look. When you consider an outfit too much, that's when it goes wrong.”

―Rita Ora

Rita Ora
Biographical information
Name at Birth	Rita Sahatçiu Ora
Alternative name(s)	Rita Sahatciu-Ora
Gender	Female
Date of Birth	November 26, 1990
Age	34
Height	5'6
Nationality	British Albanian
Origin	Pristina, Serbia, Yugoslavia (now Serbia)
Professional Information
Occupation(s)	Singer Songwriter Actress Judge on the Masked Singer

Early life

Rita Ora was born on 26 November 1990 in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day Kosovo), to Albanian parents. Her mother, Vera (née Bajraktari), is a psychiatrist and her father, Besnik Sahatçiu, is a pub owner, having previously studied economics. Ora has an older sister, Elena, and a younger brother, Don. She was born as Rita Sahatçiu (surname derived from the Turkish word saatçi, which means "watchmaker"), but her parents later added Ora (ora means "time" in Albanian) to the family surname so it could be easily pronounced.

Her family left Kosovo for political reasons, due to persecution of Albanians initiated with the disintegration of Yugoslavia. They relocated to London, England in 1991, when Ora was a baby. She grew up in Notting Hill, in West London, and attended a performing arts school, Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Rita is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. The album contained the UK number-one singles, "R.I.P." and "How We Do (Party)". Ora was the artist with the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in 2012, with three singles reaching the top position.

Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, Ora was named an Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo in 2015. Ora's second studio album, Phoenix, was released in November 2018. The lead single, "Your Song", reached the UK top ten, and the subsequent singles, "Anywhere" and "Let You Love Me", reached the top five in the UK. "Let You Love Me" made Ora the first British female solo artist to have thirteen top ten songs in the United Kingdom. She released her third studio album, You & I, in July 2023.

Musical and acting career

Ora is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. In 2004, she starred in the film Spivs as Rosanna and made her television debut the same year as Jacklyn Livermore where she was credited under her full name.

In November of 2022, it was announced that Rita would star in the upcoming Descendants: The Rise of Red standalone sequel where she portrays the Queen of Hearts and the mother of the titular character, Red. She will reprise her role as the character in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland.

Trivia

• Counts Gwen Stefani as a major influence in terms of demeanour, and her band No Doubt's "Don't Speak" (1996) as one of her favorite songs.
• Her father, Besnik, was a pub owner and she started her singing performances at the same pub.
• Friends with Kate Moss, and Ed Sheeran.
• Maternal grandfather, Osman Bajraktari, was the Albanian consul to Russia, then part of the USSR.
• Has two siblings, Don Ora and sister Elena.
• She first met Brandy in March 2013 during her Japan tour and gave her a Hello Kitty plush as a gift.
  • 9 years later, they were both cast in Descendants: The Rise of Red together.
• To prepare for her role as Queen of Hearts in Descendants: The Rise of Red, she received help from the previous star in the franchise Dove Cameron, who gave her information and advice about the Descendants franchise and universe.
• She announced the upcoming Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour at the D23 Expo earlier this year.

References

Wikipedia