Nina Simone possessed one of the great voices of the 20th century. She was a singer, songwriter and pianist who mastered gospel, soul, blues, jazz, folk, RnB and pop music. Nina was also a prominent civil rights activist, and that burning desire for justice and equal rights was sparked when she was just a child. February 21, 2023 would have been the High Priestess of Soul's 90th birthday, read on to learn all you need to know about her incredible life...

Nina was born in Tryon, a town in North Carolina, USA, on 21 February 1933. She was the sixth in a family of eight siblings, descended mainly from African slaves, although her ancestors also included Irish and Indian blood. She grew up listening to Bach, Debussy, Brahms and Beethoven, but her talent isolated her. As a child, she had the goal of becoming the first African-American classical pianist.

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon. She came up with her stage name to hide her true identity from her mother, who was opposed to her being a singer because of her religious convictions as a minister in the Methodist Church. Nina took her name from the Spanish pronunciation of "girl", "niña", (which was what a boyfriend called her) and Simone, after the French actress Simone Signoret, whom she had seen in the film 'Casque d'or'.

The star grew up surrounded by music. At home, all her siblings sang and played an instrument, without any schooling. Her father, John Divine Waymon, was involved in showbusiness for a while: he sang, danced and played the harmonica, but had to give it up when the family grew up to work in a dry cleaner's and as a barber. Nina Simone studied music at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. However, she was the victim of racial discrimination when she was denied a scholarship to continue her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1951. The Institute later defended itself by claiming that the cause was the large number of applicants, many of high piano ability, for a very small number of places, pointing out that scholarships had already been given to several successful black students. However, this was an event the star could never forget, as she recounted in the Oscar nominated Netflix documentary about her life 'What Happened, Miss Simone?', released in October 2015. She said: "I never really got over that jolt of racism at the time."

Nina started playing the piano from the age of just two. The first songs she performed were 'God Be With You' and 'Till We Meet Again.’ At the age of four, she started playing piano at her local church services. And at the age of 12, she played her first piano recital. However, during that recital she experienced the racism that existed in America at the time. Her parents were forced to move from the front row of the recital hall to the back, in order to make room for white people. A young Nina took a stand and refused to perform until her mother and father were given back their original seats. The moment was pivotal for Nina and inspired her to advocate for black rights in America throughout her life.

Word of Nina's talent began to spread far and wide after she performed in various clubs in Philadelphia, where her family had moved in. Nina soon became a well-known name in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where, at the age of 21, she first sang at the Midtown Bar and Grill on Pacific Avenue. She continued to sing and play there to pay for her private piano lessons with Vladimir Sokoloff, a professor at Curtis, the school which spurned her. In 1957, she landed her first record deal with Bethlehem Records and in February 1959 she released her first LP 'Little Girl Blue: Jazz As Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club'. After becoming disillusioned with Bethlehem, Nina signed a new deal with Colpix Records in April 1959, releasing eight albums in five years. In 1964, Nina signed with Philips Records and then with RCA Records in 1967. Nina recorded over 40 live and studio albums during her lifetime.

Nina Simone briefly married beatnik Don Ross in 1958, but divorced him the following year. Two years later, on 4 December 1961, she married Andrew Stroud, a New York police detective who would become her manager and appear as a songwriter on several song credits. It has been documented that Stroud professionally exploited and psychologically abused his talented wife and they eventually divorced in the early 1970s. The two had a daughter, Lisa Celeste, in 1962.

The singer experienced several episodes of racial discrimination in her life, which led her to become an active advocate for African-American civil rights and to later become part of the Black Power Movement in the United States. Her struggle and denunciation of injustice was a constant in both her personal and professional life. It is therefore not surprising that in songs such as 'Gifted and Black', 'Brown Baby' and 'Four Women', she called on future generations of African-Americans to accept their identity and fight for their rights.

Nina Simone left the United States in 1969, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, tired of the racial segregation that existed in America. The star went to live in Barbados after having several problems with music agencies, managers and relationships. On several occasions, Simone commented that many of her problems were due to her skin colour, and so she stopped paying taxes as a form of protest against racism and the Vietnam War. A subsequent move took her to Switzerland to provide a better education for her daughter. She tried to return to London, but failed when she was robbed, beaten and abandoned by a supposed sponsor who turned out to be a con man. Because of this incident, Nina attempted to take her own life on one occasion, however, she got her life back on track and moved to Paris in 1978. In 1985, Nina Simone returned to the United States to continue her career in her homeland. This time, she focused on what would become popular, downplaying her political views, gaining increasing acclaim. Later that year, her single 'My Baby Just Cares for Me' was brought back to life after it was used in a commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume, catapulting her worldwide.

Surprisingly, Simone received only four Grammy Award nominations - two during her lifetime and two posthumously. Simone was the recipient of a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000 for her interpretation of 'I Loves You, Porgy'. Nina was the first woman to win the Jazz Cultural Award. She was also recognized with the titles of Honorary Citizenship of Atlanta, the Diamond Award for Excellence in Music from the Association of African American Music of Philadelphia and the Honorable Musketeer Award from the Compagnie des Mousquetaires d'Armagnac of France. In 2018, she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Two days before she died, on 19 April 2003, she was awarded an honorary degree at the Curtis Institute, the Philadelphia academy that rejected her when she was 19 because of her skin colour.

Nina Simone battled breast cancer for several years, but continued to tour until 2001, despite her illness. She died at the age of 70 on 21 April, 2003 at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France. Her ashes were scattered in several African countries at her request and as a way of honoring her life.