Scherzinger was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Filipino father and a Hawaiian/Russian mother and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with stepfather Gary Scherzinger, mother Rosemary and sister Ke’ala. There she began her life as a performer, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. Scherzinger majored in theater arts at Wright State University, but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New. In 2001 she competed in the premiere season of The WB’s television show Popstars, on which she earned a spot in the all-girl pop group Eden’s Crush. The group’s 2001 single “Get Over Yourself” peaked at #1 in sales and hit the top five on Billboard Hot 100. “Love This Way” was the second single chosen from the Popstars album; however, their record company folded and the group disbanded.

In 2003, following her stint with Eden’s Crush, Scherzinger joined The Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. She had first seen them performing on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2002, where Carmen Electra sang “Big Spender” from the musical Sweet Charity. In 2006 Scherzinger said “It caught my eye because I’d played Velma Kelly in Chicago in college.

The Pussycat Dolls now have world-wide status as a popular singing group; their Billboard top five hits include “Don’t Cha” and “Stickwitu”. The album PCD went platinum in 2006. Scherzinger is the only group member with a songwriting credit on the album. She has also done background vocals for Days of the New, Will Smith, and Shaggy.

She made her feature film debut in the 2003 film Chasing Papi; despite her Filipino and Russian ancestry, she played the role of “Miss Puerto Rico”. She also appeared on the television shows My Wife and Kids and Half & Half,and had an extra position in the movie Love Don’t Cost a Thing.

Scherzinger was once engaged to Nick Hexum, the lead singer of the popular alternative rock band 311. Their 2002 hit single “Amber” was written for Scherzinger.

In 2006, she is touring with The Pussycat Dolls and has plans to record a solo CD. Some reports claim she will leave the group, while others say she will alternate her solo career with her role in the Dolls. A solo song, “Steam,” was ‘leaked’ in May of 2006. It was produced by B. Cox.