Early life
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The only child of Ethiopian Amhara immigrants … See more

Influences
Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations. He has attributed Jackson's music as key in spurring him to be a … See more

Plagiarism allegations
In December 2015, Tesfaye was sued by Cutting Edge Music, which alleged that the bassline for "The Hills" had been taken from a composition featured in the score for the 2013 science fiction film The Machine. … See more

Acting
Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers. On August 30, 2019, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems. See more

After being presented with a Bikila Award for Professional Excellence in 2014, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the University of Toronto to fund a new course on Ge'ez, the classic language of Ethiopia. In May 2016, during Orthodox Easter, Tesfaye donated … See more

Tesfaye prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye. In the beginning of his career, he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter, which he attributed to shyness and insecurities. He prefers to be … See more

Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, twenty Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and twenty-two Juno Awards. He has also received nominations for an Academy Award See more