Aging is a natural part of life. As people grow older, their appearance changes from how they once looked. While many accept these changes with ease, others find it more difficult.
Celebrities, just like anyone else, go through the aging process. However, female celebrities often face intense scrutiny for every change in their appearance, whether natural or the result of cosmetic choices. This story is no different: a major pop star from the 2000s is now facing critical judgment simply because she has aged.
Canadian artist Nelly Furtado burst onto the music scene around 2000 and was quickly regarded as one of Canada’s most successful musicians. Her debut album, *Whoa, Nelly!*, achieved both critical and commercial success. The album’s hits, “I’m Like a Bird” and “Turn Off the Light,” reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the former even earning her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
While everything appeared to be going well at the time, it has since come to light that things weren’t as perfect as they seemed. In a recent interview, Furtado shared insights into the personal struggles she faced in her early days of fame.
She opened up about the frequent airbrushing she underwent early in her career. “I have olive skin, and they’d kind of lighten my skin a lot in photos, and kind of take my hips down all the time — they would always cut off in editorials,” she shared.
In 2003, she addressed this experience in her song “Powerless” from the album Folklore, singing, “Paint my face in your magazines / Make it look whiter than it seems / Paint me over with your dreams / Shove away my ethnicity.”
Of Portuguese descent, Furtado recently revealed, “By my second album, I guess I was kind of angry about it.”
Despite the obstacles she’s faced, Furtado holds no grudges and expresses gratitude for the journey her career has taken.
Furtado credits her matriarchal family and her supportive team for instilling a sense of assertiveness and providing guidance, which have helped her navigate the industry successfully.
At one point, she chose to step away from the spotlight to focus on her family. She has three children, including her oldest, 21-year-old son Nevis Gahunia.
After giving birth to her two youngest children, who are just 14 months apart, Furtado discovered she had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She began to notice symptoms while caring for her kids, which led to her official diagnosis. She shares her younger two children with rapper Jerry (Gerard Damien Long).
Though Furtado had lived with ADHD her entire life, it was caring for her two youngest children—so close in age—that ultimately led to her diagnosis.
She explained, “When I was attending college, [I was like] ‘Boing, boing, boing, boing.’ I’ve had it my whole life. But when I had my two youngest in close proximity, it made me very aware of my ADHD.”
Since her diagnosis, she has focused on being mindful and present, despite everyday distractions. She prioritizes sleep, exercise, and maintaining a steady routine. She also finds that her ADHD is more manageable when she’s in the dance studio.
Recently, the singer released her first album in seven years, bringing her back into the spotlight. She’s performed some of her new songs live, sparking plenty of conversation!
