H.E.R. (an acronym for Having Everything Revealed), born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson on June 27, 1997, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and actress whose soulful voice and emotional lyricism have earned her widespread acclaim and numerous prestigious awards. Known for her mysterious persona early in her career, she has since become one of the most respected and influential voices in contemporary R&B.
Hailing from Vallejo, California, Wilson showed early musical promise, performing on national television by age ten, including appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The View, and The Apollo Theater, where she impressed audiences with covers of Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin. As a child performer known as Gabi Wilson, she also acted in the Nickelodeon film School Gyrls and was managed by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment.
At age 14, she signed a record deal with RCA Records through MBK Entertainment, releasing her debut single “Something to Prove” in 2014 under her birth name. However, it wasn’t until 2016, when she re-emerged under the moniker H.E.R., that she began to captivate the music world. Her debut EP H.E.R. Volume 1 was released that same year, followed by several more EPs that were eventually compiled into her 2017 self-titled compilation album H.E.R.. The album peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and won her two Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance for “Best Part,” her duet with Daniel Caesar.
Her follow-up compilation I Used to Know Her (2019) garnered five Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for “Hard Place.” In 2021, H.E.R. won Song of the Year at the Grammys for “I Can’t Breathe,” a powerful anthem inspired by the George Floyd protests. That same year, she won an Academy Award and a Grammy for “Fight for You,” the original song she wrote for the film Judas and the Black Messiah. Her highly anticipated debut studio album Back of My Mind (2021) received critical praise and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
In addition to her music career, H.E.R. has continued to work in television and film, including winning a Children’s and Family Emmy Award in 2022 for her work on the Obama-produced Netflix animated series We the People.
With five Grammy wins, an Oscar, and an Emmy to her name before the age of 30, H.E.R. has solidified herself as a generational talent, bridging classic R&B influences with modern sensibilities while using her platform for artistic expression and social change.