Doja Cat was born Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini on October 21, 1995 to South African actor and composer Dumisani Dlamini and Jewish-American painter Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer. The future singer and rapper grew up in the Tarzana and Sherman Oaks neighborhoods of Los Angeles, taking a variety of dance lessons. After dropping out of school at the of 16, Doja began making her own music on SoundCloud and adopted the name Doja Cat from her favorite strain of marijuana.
Doja signed to RCA Records at just 17 years old, putting out her EP Purrr! and began building a following on Spotify. Gaining the attention of celebrities like Katy Perry and Chance the Rapper, Doja scored a massive viral hit for her tune “Juicy” in 2019, which was later remixed by Tyga.
In honor of her birthday, see more photos of Doja Cat through the years here!
