Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter, regarded as the "Queen of Rap".

Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, committed arson onto their house in December 1987.

Minaj was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget a week after graduating from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

Minaj rapped in a New York hip hop group called Hoodstars, which included rappers Lou$tar and 7even Up and hype man Safaree Samuels from 2002 to 2004.

Hoodstars recorded the entrance song for WWE Diva Victoria, "Don't Mess With", which was featured on the compilation album ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol.6.

Fendi, who owned the Brooklyn production company Dirty Money Entertainment, signed Minaj to Dirty Money under a 180-day contract.

Minaj released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over.

Minaj released her second mixtape, Sucka Free.

Minaj released her third mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, which received favorable coverage. The Beam Me Up Scotty track "I Get Crazy", reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Minaj signed a recording contract with Young Money, with her deal entailing her owning her 360 rights, including her merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.

Minaj made her first two appearances on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with her features on "Knockout" and "Up Out My Face" by Lil Wayne and Mariah Carey respectively.

Minaj released "Massive Attack" featuring Sean Garrett, which was dropped from her forthcoming debut album, Pink Friday, due to poor commercial performance.

Minaj released "Your Love", which peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Rap Songs chart.

Minaj was featured on Kanye West's "Monster", a posse cut with Jay-Z and Rick Ross featuring vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Her verse received widespread acclaim with many critics regarding it as the best verse on that song.

Minaj received her first Grammy Award nomination for her guest verse on Ludacris' song "My Chick Bad".

Pink Friday was released, debuting at number two and later reaching number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 375,000 copies. It had the largest sales week for a female rap album in the 21st century.

Pink Friday was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for moving a million units in the United States, with it becoming the first album by a solo female rapper to go platinum in seven years.

"Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake was released as the fourth single from Pink Friday, reaching number 13 on the Hot 100.

Minaj was one of the opening acts on Britney Spears' 2011 Femme Fatale Tour.

Minaj performed "Super Bass" at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Minaj won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video for "Super Bass", marking her first VMA win.

Minaj performed "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life" as the musical guest on the January 29, 2011, episode of Saturday Night Live.

"Super Bass" was released as Pink Friday's fifth single. It became a sleeper hit and commercially successful, ultimately peaking at number three on the Hot 100. It was eventually certified 12-times platinum in the US, for selling 12 million units; it became the highest-certified song by a female rapper in RIAA history.

Minaj experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a live performance on Good Morning America when she revealed her left nipple.

Minaj was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album for Pink Friday.

Minaj won awards for Best Female Video (for "Starships") at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Hip-Hop at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.

"Starships" was released as the lead single from Minaj's forthcoming second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, was the fifth best-selling single of 2012, and was certified diamond by the RIAA in November 2024, for moving over ten million units in the US.

Minaj joined Madonna to perform the single, "Give Me All Your Luvin" during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

Minaj performed "Roman Holiday" during the 2012 Grammy ceremony.

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 253,000 copies, and was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA in November 2024, becoming Minaj's highest-certified album yet.

Minaj began her headlining Pink Friday Tour, which was followed by the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour beginning October 14, 2012.

She voiced Steffie in the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift.

Minaj joined the judges' panel for the twelfth season of American Idol with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson.

Minaj was the subject of a three-part E! documentary titled Nicki Minaj: My Truth.

An expanded version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, subtitled The Re-Up, was released.

Minaj's first live-action theatrical film The Other Woman was filmed in spring 2013 and premiered on April 25, 2014.

"Pills n Potions" was released as the lead single from The Pinkprint.

Minaj appeared on the song "Bang Bang" with singers Jessie J and Ariana Grande, which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and marked Minaj's first number-one on the UK singles chart. "Bang Bang" was certified diamond by the RIAA in May 2024, for recognized sales of 10 million units; it became the first all-female collaboration to achieve the certification.

"Anaconda" was released as the second single from the album, peaking at number two, which became her highest-charting single in the US at the time.

Minaj hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. She also won the Best Hip-Hop Award for a second time.

The Pinkprint was officially released, debuting at number two in the U.S., with first week sales of 244,000 equivalent units.

Minaj won her sixth consecutive award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the 2015 BET Awards, becoming the female rapper with most wins in that category.

Minaj embarked on her third world tour entitled The Pinkprint Tour and also became the first female artist to chart four songs simultaneously in the top 10 of Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart.

Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Minaj, which depicted a pose from the "Anaconda" music video.

Minaj would executive produce and appear in a scripted single-camera comedy series for ABC Family (now Freeform) based on her life growing up in Queens, New York City. The show was titled Nicki and the pilot episode was filmed in Minaj's hometown in January 2016.

Minaj featured in the third installment of the Barbershop film series, titled Barbershop: The Next Cut.

Minaj responded to Remy Ma's diss tracks with her single "No Frauds", featuring Drake and Lil Wayne.

Minaj featured on Gucci Mane's song "Make Love" and Jason Derulo's single "Swalla" alongside Ty Dolla Sign, the latter of which reached the top ten in several countries, including a peak of number six in the UK.

Minaj signed with the major modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models.

Minaj broke the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries for a female artist, which at the time was previously held by Aretha Franklin.

Minaj opened the 2017 Billboard Music Awards with a medley performance.

Minaj announced the title of her fourth studio album, Queen, and the original release date at the 2018 Met Gala.

Minaj performed at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards where she also won her fourth MTV Video Music Award for the "Chun-Li" music video.

Minaj received the Game Changer Award at the year-end Billboard Women in Music event.

Minaj released "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz" simultaneously, with both reaching number ten and number twenty-five in the US respectively.

Queen was released, debuting at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units.

Minaj featured on the song "Woman Like Me" by British girl group Little Mix.

Minaj parted ways with her longtime management team after a mutual agreement, with American entertainment executive Irving Azoff serving as her new manager.

Minaj released a standalone single titled "Megatron".

Minaj had a voice role as Pinky in The Angry Birds Movie 2.

Minaj collaborated with Colombian singer Karol G on the song "Tusa", which was released to streaming platforms.

Minaj announced a six-part docuseries about her, produced by Bron Studios and was originally said to premiere on HBO Max, on the 10th anniversary of her debut album Pink Friday (2010).

Minaj was featured on "Nice to Meet Ya" by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor.

Minaj released a standalone song called "Yikes" as a promotional single.

Minaj appeared as a guest judge on the twelfth season's premiere of the reality television show RuPaul's Drag Race.

Doja Cat announced a collaboration with Minaj on two remixes of her song "Say So". The remix later debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Minaj and Doja Cat's first single to reach number one in the U.S.

Minaj released a collaboration with 6ix9ine called "Trollz", which debuted at number one in the U.S. becoming her second number one single.

Minaj featured on singer Ty Dolla Sign's track "Expensive".

Minaj won the Best Hip Hop award in the MTV Europe Music Awards 2021, becoming the sixth time she has won this award.

Minaj released a reissue of her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), including new songs previously unavailable on streaming services. The reissue debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, which gave it the highest debut for a female rap mixtape in the U.S.

Minaj split with her previous manager Irving Azoff and is now being managed by Wassim Slaiby.

Minaj appeared as a surprise host for the season six reunion of the reality television show The Real Housewives of Potomac.

Minaj's 2011 Pink Friday single "Super Bass" received a Diamond certification by the RIAA, making her the second solo female rapper to receive a diamond certification.

Minaj emceed the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards with LL Cool J and Jack Harlow, and hosted the 2023 ceremony. At the former ceremony, she received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and performed a medley of her hits as the recipient.

Minaj released a song collaboration with rapper Lil Baby titled "Do We Have a Problem?".

Minaj appeared on English television host James Corden's Carpool Karaoke segment, kickstarting the return of its broadcast on The Late Late Show with James Corden after a two-year hiatus.

Minaj headlined the 2022 editions of Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and the Wireless Festival in London.

Minaj released her first greatest hits album titled Queen Radio: Volume 1, comprising several hits from her previous projects and one new track, "Likkle Miss (Remix)" with Skeng.

Minaj became the first black artist and female rapper to win Best US Act in the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Minaj released "Red Ruby da Sleeze" as the album's second single.

Minaj appeared as a surprise performer during Lil Wayne's set at the Rolling Loud California festival.

Minaj teamed up with Ice Spice on the remix to the latter's song "Princess Diana"—the first-ever release on Minaj's record label imprint, Heavy On It.

Minaj and Ice Spice released their second collaboration, "Barbie World" with Europop band Aqua, from the Barbie film soundtrack.

Minaj released "Super Freaky Girl", which samples Rick James's 1981 song, "Super Freak". Debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100, it marked Minaj's third US number-one, her first solo chart-topper, and the first solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one in the US in the 21st century.

Minaj released "Last Time I Saw You" as the album's third single.

Minaj performed on the Atlanta and Miami dates of iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Tour 2023. She conducted a New Year's Eve concert at the E11Even nightclub in Miami.

Minaj's fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 was released, her birthday, after multiple date delays. The sequel to her debut album Pink Friday, it is primarily a hip hop, R&B and pop rap record featuring several collaborations, and received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Minaj won Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards 2024—her seventh win in the category, and first since 2016.

Pink Friday 2 became the first album by a solo woman to win Album of the Year at the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Minaj released "Big Foot", which broke first-day records for the highest solo female rap debut in Apple Music history, and the biggest solo female rap debut on Spotify and YouTube in 2024.

In support of Pink Friday 2, Minaj embarked on its namesake world tour, her most extensive tour yet, from March to October 2024. The tour included her headlining slots at ten festivals. It became the highest-grossing tour by a female rapper in history and the fourth-highest-grossing tour by a rapper or hip hop artist, with over $108 million in revenue, based on the first 70 shows.

Minaj was detained when marijuana was found in her luggage at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she was boarding a plane to perform a concert in Manchester, England. She was fined and released the same day.

A lawsuit was filed against Minaj by Brandon Garrett, a former tour employee, alleging assault, battery and "intentional infliction of emotional distress".