Adult Net

With her endlessly riveting sound and persona, Missy Elliott has actively, thoroughly reshaped the genres of R&B, hip-hop, and pop, becoming a beacon for mainstream-minded outsiders in the process.

Born in Portsmouth, VA, 1971, Melissa Arnette Elliott grew up heavily involved in music in church, while at school balancing grade-skipping smarts with class-clown charisma.

She’d eventually parlay all that into a career, starting with a spot in early-’90s all-woman R&B group Sista.