Tinashe: ethnic background, nationality, parents, siblings
For Tinashe's loyal fans, it feels unfair that the versatile singer is not getting the same reverence as some of her peers. However, unlike many musicians, she does not have a specific style of music. Most of her albums have shifted from pop princess to adult R&B. She also prefers hip-hop, alternative music, rap, stadium pop, and EDM. While that may seem sporadic, it makes her unique and one of the reasons some of her songs have performed well in the charts.
Source: Getty Images
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and record producer. She was born on 6 February 1993 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Her parents are Michael Kachingwe (father) and Aimie Kachingwe (mother).
Since 2000, she has been active in the entertainment industry and has received many nominations and won several awards. However, to those who are only learning about her or have just heard her full name, the two main questions are usually: where is Tinashe originally from and who is Tinashe's dad?
Tinashe bio summary
- Full name: Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe
- Citizenship: American
- Age: 27 years
- Date of birth: 6 February 1993
- Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky, United States
- Parents: Michael Kachingwe (father), Aimie Kachingwe (mother)
- Siblings: Thulani Kachingwe, Kudzai Kachingwe
- Height: 1.65 m (5 feet 5 inches)
- Profession: Singer, Songwriter, Dancer, Record Producer, Actress
- Marital status: Unmarried
- Ethnicity: Multiracial
- Education: Crescenta Valley High School
Early life
Source: Getty Images
Tinashe Kachingwe was born in Lexington, Kentucky and she is the eldest child of her parents, Michael and Aimie Kachingwe. The songstress has two younger brothers named Thulani Kachingwe and Kudzai Kachingwe.
Although Tinashe was born in Lexington, her parents moved to Los Angeles when she was eight years old. She went to Crescenta Valley High School in California. While growing up in California, Tinashe faced a lot of bullying from her peers.
In a recent interview, Tinashe recalls that many of her friends never wanted to engage with her. They would talk in secret and ignore her at school. Additionally, she was bullied in middle school and her freshman year at high school.
Tinashe started having many doubts and self-scrutiny, and it messed her up psychologically. The songstress felt unattractive because nobody wanted to talk to her. Eventually, those events got into her head and she left school after the ninth grade. She missed out of prom and college experience.
After dropping out of school, Tinashe went to pursue a career in music as a full-time artist. She studied ballet, jazz dancing, and tap from a young age. At 14 to 16 years, she started making music after building a home studio in her bedroom. The singer also competed in different dance styles until she turned 18 years old.
As a teenager, she recorded her songs, filmed them, and uploaded them online. That enabled her to attract enough fans and drew enough attention to her projects. Experts in the music industry took note and signed her as a mainstream singer.
Family, husband, and children
Source: Getty Images
The American singer comes from a family of three children. She is the eldest and the only daughter in the family. Tinashe's family is of mixed-race. Her father, Michael Kachingwe, is a first-generation immigrant from Zimbabwe and gets his heritage from the Shona people. Her mother, Aimie Kachingwe is of English, Irish, Norwegian, Italian, and Danish descent.
Since they have lived and worked in America, Tinashe parents nationality is American. But is Tinashe African? The singer has African roots since her father was born and raised in Zimbabwe. However, she is American because she was born in the United States.
Her mother teaches physical therapy at the California State University, Northridge. Her father, on the other hand, is a professor who teaches acting at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
At 27 years of age, Tinashe Kachingwe is a single woman. In 2017, she dated basketball star, Ben Simmons. The two were in a relationship for less than a year and split up in 2018. She also had encounters with Chris Brown in 2015, Ty Dolla $ign in 2016, and was rumoured to have hooked up with Calvin Harris in 2016. But does Tinashe have children?
The American singer does not have children. On 28 August 2020, she opened up about her sexual orientation and admitted she was bisexual. However, she does not want her bisexuality to define her.
Professional career
While most people know Tinashe from her songs, she has tried her hand in multiple trades. Some of these have worked out while others haven't. What many people don't know is that she is also an actor, having featured in several popular films.
Acting career
Source: Getty Images
Tinashe's career in the entertainment industry started when she was four years old in 1997. She featured in the 1997 Canadian/French children's animated television series, Franklin. The singer appeared in one episode of the show titled Hurry Up, Franklin/Franklin's Bad Day.
Three years later, she played the role of Josephine in the 2000 television drama film, Cora Unshamed. She continued to make more appearances both on TV and in movies. In 2003, she played Mrs. Brown's Daughter in the drama film, Masked and Anonymous.
Between 2004 and 2007, she appeared in seven movies and one television show. One of her major roles on TV came in 2007 when she played Robin Wheeler in the 2007-2008 live-action animated television series, Out of Jimmy's Head.
Her performances in the show were impressive that she won the Young Artist Award for the Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series category. She also received a nomination for the Best Performance in a TV Series in the Supporting Young Actress category.
Her acting career seemed to have stopped around 2009. She played a recurring role of three episodes in the television sitcom, Two and a Half Men. Since then, she appeared on TV as a musical guest, interviewee, guest host, performer, and contestant. But in 2018, she played Mimi Márquez in the television special, Rent: Live.
Music career
Although Tinashe had a promising acting career, music was her passion. She started recording songs after dropping out of high school while in the ninth grade. Between 2007 and 2011, she was a member of the now-disbanded girl group the Stunners.
The Stunners had six initial members and signed with Columbia Records in 2007. They later signed a production deal with Lionsgate Entertainment in 2009. Together, they released five singles, appeared in four music videos, and performed in the My World Tour featuring Justin Bieber in 2010.
Tinashe released her first mixtape on 1 February 2012 titled In Case We Die. On 6 September 2012, she released her second mixtape called Reverie. Other mixtapes that followed the two are Black Water (2013) and Amethyst (2015).
In 2014, Tinashe released her first debut album titled Aquarius under the RCA Record label. The album performed well on the charts, hitting number two on the USA R&B Billboard and ranked 17th on the Billboard 200. Two years later, she released her second album named Nightride. The album did not perform well on the charts since it managed to rank at number 89 on the Billboard 200.
Source: Getty Images
In 2018 and 2019, she released two albums titled Joyride and Songs for You respectively. The difference between the two albums is that she released Joyride under the RCA Record label and Songs for You independently under the Tinashe Music Inc.
Apart from mixtapes and albums, the singer has released many singles over the years. Some of the songs feature top musicians like Offset, Ty Dolla $ign, and 6lack, among others. Since she began her music career, she has released four studio albums, 30 music videos, 30 singles, four mixtapes, and 13 promotional singles.
Awards and nominations
Tinashe has received several awards and nominations for her contribution to the entertainment industry. Most of her wins have come from her work as a singer and not an actress. The various awards she has won over the years are:
- 2014 YouTube Music Awards for top 50 artists to watch
- 2015 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards for Most Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 2 On
- 2016 Ivor Novello Awards for Best Contemporary Song - All My Friends (with Snakehips and Chance the Rapper)
- 2016 Zimbabwe Achievers Awards USA for Special Recognition Awards
- 2016 Hollywood Beauty Awards for New Beauty Award
- 2018 Zimbabwe Achievers Awards USA Music Artist of the Year
- Tinashe has also received two Soul Train Music Awards nominations, one BET Awards nomination, and one BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards nomination.
Her music has also been used in soundtracks for various movies and TV shows. Furthermore, she has worked as a composer and director of her short videos. As of 2020, she has released three singles namely Save Room For Us, Rascal (Superstar), and Dance Like Nobody's Watching.
Tinashe race controversy
In 2017, Tinashe made some controversial comments about race. The singer suggested that colourism was rampant among the black community. She went further to say that she does not feel like she fits into the black community and that they do not accept her, even though she is herself a black woman.
Her comments received backlash from the black community, with many fans accusing her of blaming the black community for her lack of success. But she later responded by saying people took her words out of context.
Tinashe is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and record producer. She began her career in the entertainment industry in the early 2000s. Over the years, she has appeared in many movies and television shows. In her music career, she has released four studio albums, 30 music videos, 30 singles, four mixtapes, and 13 promotional singles.
Yen.com.gh recently created a biography of Ariana Grande, with special focus on her ethnicity and nationality. Ariana’s ethnicity is not easy to tell just by looking at her and that leaves most of her fans confused.
With this article, you will not only learn where Ariana’s parents come from but also her grandparents’ ancestry. Besides, you will get to know her real name and its origin.
Source: YEN.com.gh
