Lauryn Hill » Trivia

She started taking violin and dance classes at a fairly young age. Lauryn was also the founding member of the gospel choir in high school.

While she was studying in high school, she met Prakazrel “Pras” Michel through mutual friends. Eventually, Michel approached her to form a music group, Tranzlator Crew.

Michel and Hill eventually replaced one of the vocalists in their group with his cousin Wyclef Jean. They began their musical journey by performing in high school talent shows and local events.

They eventually decided to rename their group The Fugees, a name that was taken from the derogatory term used to call Haitian refugees.

She played Rita Louise Watson in the 1993 musical comedy film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

In 1998, she co-starred as Leslie in the independent film Restaurant.

She has established a non-profit organization called the Refugee Camp Youth Project. The organization works to raise funds for the inner-city youth and also runs a summer camp in New Jersey.

In June 2012, she was slapped with 3 counts of tax fraud as she had avoided paying taxes on her income from 2005 to 2007. She eventually pleaded guilty and agreed to pay all her taxes.

However, after she failed to fulfill her promise, the judge handed her 3 months of prison sentence in May 2013. Also, her prison sentence could have been extended to 36 months depending on certain conditions. The prison sentence was to be followed by 3 months of house arrest, which was to be a part of her year-long supervised probation. In October 2013, she was released early from prison because of her good behavior and the lack of previous criminal records.

She holds several Guinness World Records including one for being the first female rapper to earn a ‘Diamond’ certification in the United States.