Rita Sahatçiu Ora (Albanian:[ˈɾitasahatˈtʃiuˈɔɾa]; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence in 2012 when she featured on
DJ Fresh's single, "
Hot Right Now", which reached number one on the
UK Singles Chart. Her debut studio album, Ora (2012), debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart and produced the 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.[4]
Ora was born on 26 November 1990 in
Pristina,
SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day
Kosovo), to
Albanian parents.[1][5] Her mother, Vera (née Bajraktari), is a
psychiatrist and her father, Besnik Sahatçiu, is a
pub owner, having previously studied
economics.[6] 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.[7][8]
Ora began performing at open mic sessions around London and, occasionally, in her father's pub.[12] In 2008, she auditioned for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on
BBC One to be the
British contestant for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified, but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she "did not feel ready" and thought "that challenge wasn't for her."[13][14] Her manager, Sarah Stennett (who also worked with
Ellie Goulding,
Jessie J and
Conor Maynard), later told HitQuarters that she reassured Ora that performing in Eurovision would hinder, rather than help her chances to make it as a solo artist.[15]
Shortly after, Ora's management got in touch with the American label,
Roc Nation, and told them about her. Ora signed a recording deal and a
publishing deal with Roc Nation in December 2008, and was one of their first signees.[15][16][17] She made a cameo appearance in
Jay Z's video for "
Young Forever" (2009).[18] After being signed, Ora recorded an album and wanted to release it, but her label advised against it and she started to work on other material for her debut album.[12]
2012–2013: Breakthrough and Ora
Throughout 2011, Ora released covers and videos about working on her debut album on YouTube.[19] The videos caught the attention of
DJ Fresh, who at that time was looking for a female vocalist for his song, "
Hot Right Now".[20] Ora featured on the single that was released on 12 February 2012, debuting at number one on the
UK Singles Chart.[21] During February 2012, Ora was also the opening act at the UK concerts from
Drake's
Club Paradise Tour.
The first UK single from her debut album, "
R.I.P." (featuring
Tinie Tempah), was released on 6 May 2012.[22] Produced by
Chase & Status, the song debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming her first solo UK number one.[23] On 12 August, "
How We Do (Party)" was released as a single, and it reached number one in the UK and Ireland. It was Ora's second UK number one as a solo artist, and third overall in 2012.[24]
Whilst supporting
Coldplay on their
Mylo Xyloto Tour, she later announced that her debut album would be titled Ora.[25] The album was released on 27 August 2012 in Europe and Oceania, and debuted at the top of the
UK Albums Chart.[4] Ora was nominated for Best New Artist, Push Artist and Best UK/Ireland Act at the
2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.[26] In September 2012, it was announced that Ora would be the opening act on the UK concerts from
Usher's
Euphoria Tour set to start in January 2013. However, the tour was postponed due to Usher's "professional and personal commitments."[27]
In January 2013, Ora revealed that her second album would be clearer and have more direction than the first one.[32] On 26 February 2013, she revealed to Digital Spy that her second album shows a different angle to a "party girl."[33][34] On 24 May 2013, Ora was the headline act on In New Music We Trust stage at
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.[35] On 28 June 2013, she performed on the Pyramid Stage at
Glastonbury.[36]
2014–2016: Split from Roc Nation and other projects
In December 2015, Ora filed a lawsuit against Roc Nation, seeking release from the label and citing that the contract she signed in 2008 is "unenforceable", due to California's "
seven-year rule". The complaint stated that she's "only been permitted to release one album despite creating multiple additional records for release" and that her relationship with Roc Nation is "irrevocably damaged".[43][44][45] In January 2016, Roc Nation filed a counter-lawsuit against Ora for breaking her recording contract, in New York. They reached a settlement in May 2016.[46]
On 26 May 2017, Ora released her first solo single in almost two years, titled "
Your Song", which peaked at number seven in the UK.[50][51] The song served as the lead single from Ora's second studio album, after previous attempts at her second record were lost in her lawsuit against her former label, Roc Nation. The second single, "
Anywhere", became her eleventh top ten song in the UK, peaking at number two.[51] In January 2018, Ora released the song "
For You" (with
Liam Payne), from the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Freed.[52]
On 18 September 2018, Ora revealed the title of her second studio album, Phoenix, and its release date, 23 November. On 21 September, she released the album's fourth single, "
Let You Love Me".[53] The song reached number four in the UK, marking Ora's 13th top-ten song, thus breaking a 30-year-old record for most top ten songs by a British female solo artist (previously jointly held by
Shirley Bassey and
Petula Clark).[2][54] On 29 October, she announced
tour dates for the album in Europe, Asia and Oceania from 1 March until 29 May 2019.[55]
In September 2019, Ora confirmed to Marie Claire that she had begun working on her third studio album.[58] She provided further details regarding the music with NME, stating that "people have been coming to studio sessions from all over the world. I've been working on this now for the past two years, on and off. I have plans for this third album to be something I've never done before."[59] On 12 February 2021, Ora released the collaborative extended play, Bang, with
Kazakh producer
Imanbek.[60]
In February 2022, Ora signed a record deal with Berlin-based music label,
BMG.[61][62] On 27 January 2023, she released the song, "
You Only Love Me", as the lead single from her third studio album,You & I.[63] 0n 19 April, she released the song, "
Praising You", in collaboration with
Fatboy Slim, and announced that the album would be released on 14 July.[64][65]You & I debuted at number six in the United Kingdom.
Other ventures
Acting
An appearance in an episode of the British drama series, The Brief, was her first television role, at age 13. Shortly after, she appeared in the British film, Spivs (2004). In April 2014, Ora appeared alongside Korean popstar,
Hyuna, in an episode of Funny or Die called "Girl, You Better Walk."[66] In 2015, she played Christian Grey's sister, Mia, in the
film adaptation of the best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey, a role she later reprised in the film's two sequels.[67][68][3] Ora originally approached the production hoping to contribute to the film's soundtrack and instead was asked to audition for the role of Mia Grey by the director of the film,
Sam Taylor-Johnson.[69][70] In the 2021 film Twist, an adaptation of
Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, Ora played the
Artful Dodger.[71]
In February 2022, she was announced to act in the
Disney+ prequel – an eight-episode
limited series – to the 2017 film, Beauty and The Beast, in a role described as a "fugitive with surprising abilities who carries with her a secret that could potentially affect an entire kingdom", but the project has been put on hold indefinitely.[72][73][74]
Design
In January 2014,
Adidas announced a multi-year designer collaboration with Ora for their brand of casual sports clothing,
Adidas Originals.[75][76] Ora designed her own apparel collections for the brand, including footwear and accessories.[77][78] In 2016, she collaborated with Italian fashion brand,
Tezenis, on a
capsule lingerie collection.[79][80] In 2018, Ora co-designed a shoe collection with the Italian footwear designer,
Giuseppe Zanotti.[81][82][83] After appearing as the face of
Escada, Ora co-designed a capsule collection with the brand in 2019.[84] In September 2023, the Dublin-based retailer,
Primark, announced a multi-season fashion collaboration with Ora.[85][86] The first collection, co-designed by Ora, consisted of 169 pieces across knitwear, denim, tailoring and outerwear, along with shoes and accessories.[87][88]
Endorsements
In 2010, Ora featured in a commercial for
Skullcandy headphones.[89] In 2011, she appeared in
Calvin Klein's CK One campaign.[90][91] In 2013, she was the face of Italian sneaker brand,
Superga, and the face of
Material Girl, a clothing line designed by
Madonna.[92][93] In September 2013, cosmetics brand,
Rimmel, announced their collaboration with Ora for makeup collections.[94][95] She was the face of two
Donna Karan 2014 collections, Resort collection and Autumn/Winter collection.[96][97][98] She was also the face of the label's fragrance,
DKNY My NY, inspired by New York City.[99] In March 2014, Ora was one of the cast members of
Marks & Spencer's "Leading Ladies" campaign.[100][101] Later in 2014, she appeared as the face of
Roberto Cavalli Autumn/Winter campaign.[102][103] In 2015, she appeared in
Coca-Cola and
Samsung Galaxy S6 advertising campaigns.[104][105] In 2019, she was the face of several German brands; luxury fashion label,
Escada, jewellery company,
Thomas Sabo, and footwear retailer,
Deichmann.[106][107][108][109] Ora appeared in "London After Hours" campaign for
Pepe Jeans in 2023.[110]
On 23 March 2013, Ora performed at Bal de la Rose du Rocher in
Monte Carlo in aid of the
Princess Grace Foundation.[124] On 1 June 2013, Ora performed at the "Chime for Change" charity concert at
Twickenham Stadium, London, which raised funds and awareness for girls' and women's issues around the world.[125]
Ora dated Scottish DJ
Calvin Harris from 2013 until June 2014.[138] In 2016, Ora began a relationship with American musician
Andrew Watt. They were together for two years until September 2018. They got back together in January 2019, but broke up for the second time in October 2019.[139] Since 2021, she has been in a relationship with New Zealand filmmaker
Taika Waititi.[140] They got married in August 2022.[141][142][143]
In November 2020, Ora broke the
COVID-19 restrictions by having her birthday party at a West London restaurant during a period of national lockdown.[144][145] Ora had recently returned from Egypt and was supposed to be isolating for 14 days as a result. According to the police, Ora's security offered to pay the venue £5,000 to break guidelines and asked for CCTV cameras to be switched off.[146] The restaurant's representative denied that such payment was made.[147] Ora apologised for the breach and was fined £10,000.[148]
^
abJeffries, David.
"Rita Ora".
AllMusic.
Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2017. Born in Pristina, Kosovo but raised in London, pop star Rita Ora
^
abcTaro Greenfeld, Karl. "Rita Ora Interview – July 2015 Cover Story". Marie Claire (July 2015 issue). And that was enough, apparently, to lure their Muslim father, Besnik (Vera is Catholic). The two fled conflict–torn Kosovo in 1991, when Ora was a year old, and settled in London. Her father, who had studied economics, opened his pub–he's not a devout Muslim–and her mother became a psychiatrist.
^Gjergji, Seremb (5 September 2013).
"Tri femrat që na shndrisin" (in Albanian). seremb.com. Archived from
the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.