Who is Janelle Monáe?
Janelle Monáe is an American singer, rapper, and actress. She is known for her studio album “The ArchAndroid” and her signature black, white, and red colour palette outfits. As an actress, Janelle Monáe has appeared in movies like “Antebellum”, “Hidden Figures”, “Glass Onion” and others.
Janelle Monáe’s full name is Janelle Monáe Robinson. She was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. She is 37 years old as of March 2023.
Janelle Monáe’s family and parents
Janelle Monáe was raised in Quindaro, a working-class community in Kansas City, Kansas, United States by her parents Michael Robinson Summers (father) and Janet Robinson (mother). Her father worked as a truck driver while her mother worked as a janitor and a hotel maid.
Information about their marriage is scarce. However, they both separated when Janelle was a toddler and her mother remarried an unknown man identified as a postal worker. Further information about her mother’s second marriage is scarce at this time. In an interview with CNBC in 2019, Janelle Monáe opened up about her parents’ marriage and economic status.
She said:
I saw my parents living check to check, putting on their uniforms every day, and working hard. There were moments when my lights were cut off.
She added:
Without your community, without your family, you couldn’t survive.
About Janelle Monáe’s father- Michael Robinson Summers
Michael Robinson Summers was a truck driver popularly known as the father of Janelle Monáe. Information regarding his birth is scarce at this time. He got married to Janet Robinson (Janelle Monáe’s mother) and they have only one child. For unknown reasons, they got separated when Janelle was still a toddler. Further information about their marriage is scarce at this time.
About Janelle Monáe’s mother- Janet Robinson
Janet Robinson worked as a janitor and a hotel maid. She is popularly known as the mother of Janelle Monáe. She married Michael Robinson Summers (Janelle Monáe’s father) and they have one child. For unknown reasons, they got separated when Janelle was still a toddler. She later remarried an unknown man identified as a postal worker. In an interview with Marie Claire in 2018, Janelle opened up about how her mother raised her.
She said;
My mother Janet had me at a very young age and she made a lot of sacrifices in order for me to be the person I am today. She put me and my sister in front of her own needs, sacrificing both her own career decisions and her comfort.
She continued;
I grew up watching my mum put on a uniform every day. She was a Janitor. She also cleaned houses and was a maid at a hotel. I saw her work very hard and watched her live pay cheque to pay cheque.
She added:
My mum is at a level in her life where she doesn’t give a damn about what you think. She is a free spirit with no intuitions whatsoever.
Janelle Monáe’s siblings
Janelle Monáe was born as the only child of her parents. However, through her mother’s second marriage, she has a half-sister named Kimmy.
About Janelle Monáe’s siblings
Janelle Monáe’s only sibling is her half-sister named Kimmy.
a. Kimmy
Kimmy is the half-sister of Janelle Monáe. She was born to Janet Robinson (Janelle Monáe’s mother) and her second husband. Further information about her is scarce at this time.
Janelle Monáe’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article (March 2023), Janelle Monáe is unmarried and does not have a husband. The “Glass Onion” actress has never been married.
Janelle Monáe’s sexuality
Janelle Monáe, at the time of writing this article, identifies as “non-binary” (a gender identity that does not conform to the standard male and female binarism). The 37-year-old singer and actress previously revealed that she is pansexual in 2018, meaning she is attracted to a person regardless of their sex or gender.
In April 2022, Janelle Monáe came out publicly as non-binary, saying;
I’m non-binary so I just don’t see myself as a woman solely. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she’ and if I’m God, I am everything.
Despite being non-binary, the singer-actress has reportedly acknowledged having been in both monogamous and polyamorous relationships.
List of Janelle Monáe’s boyfriends and girlfriends
Ever since coming out as non-binary in 2022, Janelle Monáe’s love life has been quite a mystery laced with several unconfirmed relationships.
Below is a list of the people Janelle Monáe has dated or is rumoured to have:
- Janelle Monáe was romantically linked to Lewis Hamilton in 2015.
- Janelle Monáe was rumoured to be in a relationship with Tessa Thompson in 2018.
- Janelle Monáe was rumoured to be in a relationship with Lupita Nyong’o in 2019.
- Janelle Monáe was romantically linked to musical artist Nate Wonder in 2021.
About Janelle Monáe’s relationship with Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. He was born on January 7, 1985, in Stevenage, United Kingdom. He is 38 years old as of March 2023.
Janelle Monáe and Lewis Hamilton were romantically linked in 2015 after they made headlines for getting rejected at British designer Stella McCartney’s Spring/Summer Fashion Show. According to reports, the pair were not allowed inside because they arrived late. Further information about their relationship and supposed affair is scarce at this time. From all indications, it seems the two had only been just friends.
About Janelle Monáe’s relationship with Tessa Thompson
Tessa Thompson is an American actress. She was born on October 3, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, United States. She is 38 years old as of March 2023.
Janelle Monáe and Tessa Thompson first sparked relationship rumours in 2018 after Tessa appeared in Janelle’s ‘Make Me Feel’ music video. Fans were convinced the two were in a relationship due to their strong on-screen chemistry in the music video.
Tessa Thompson later addressed the subject of her relationship with Janelle Monáe in an interview with Net-A-Porter magazine in 2018. She said;
It’s tricky because Janelle and I are just really private people and we are both trying to navigate how you reconcile wanting to have that privacy and space and also wanting to use your platform and influence.
She added:
We love each other deeply. We are so close, we vibrate on the same frequency. If people want to speculate about what we are, that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me.
Although Tessa Thompson didn’t quite confirm if she and Janelle were a couple, she did refer to the singer as “her person”.
About Janelle Monáe’s relationship with Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She was born on March 1, 1983, in Mexico City, Mexico. She is 40 years old as of March 2023.
According to reports, Janelle Monáe and Lupita Nyong’o first met at the 2014 Met Gala and have been friends ever since. With their friendship being very close, fans quickly started speculating they are more than just friends. The rumours intensified after Janelle Monáe shared videos on Instagram of herself dancing with Lupita and looking very affectionate. In 2019, the pair walked the Met Gala red carpet together, re-igniting the relationship rumours.
Later that year, Janelle Monáe brought Lupita on stage at one of her shows and referred to her as “her queen”. Despite the rumours, the two have never confirmed any romantic attachment. As of March 2023, Lupita Nyong’o is in a relationship with American TV host Selema Masekela. The couple confirmed their relationship in 2022 through a heartwarming video on Instagram.
About Janelle Monáe’s relationship with Nate Wonder
Nate Wonder is a musical artist. He was born on April 6, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is 43 years old as of March 2023.
According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, Janelle Monáe and Nate Wonder have been friends since meeting at the Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 2000s, and they have worked together through the Wondaland Arts Society. In 2021, the pair were romantically linked to each other. The rumours may have stemmed from the pair’s frequent collaborations in music.
According to reports, the pair were spotted making out on a yacht off the Coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on April 6, 2021, which also marked Nate’s birthday. Despite their public display of affection, the pair have never acknowledged their relationship.
Janelle Monáe’s kids
As of the time of publishing this article (March 2023), Janelle Monáe doesn’t have a child yet. In an interview with Fault Magazine in 2018, the singer-actress revealed she is worried that one day she will run out of time to have a family.
She said;
…I won’t have a family within the time frame I want to have a family. I want to have children but I don’t want to miss that time because I was so focused on my career and because I didn’t plan accordingly. That scares me most now more than anything.
