Getting To Know Our 2010 Inductees!

Nelly Furtado – was born on December 2, 1978, in Victoria, British Columbia.  Born to Portuguese parents, ironically enough, Nelly Furtado was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. At age four she began performing and singing in Portuguese. Furtado's first public performance was when she sang a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day. She began playing musical instruments at the age of nine, learning the saxophone, cello, and, in later years, the guitar and keyboards. At the age of 12, she began writing songs, and as a teenager, she performed in a Portuguese marching band. Nelly has acknowledged her family as the source of her strong work ethic; she spent eight summers working as a chambermaid with her mother, along with her brother and sister who was a housekeeper in Victoria.[7] She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way. Furtado is also fluent in Portuguese. Congratulations to Nelly Furtado! Class of 2010!