The Masked Singer judge Rita Ora is back in our screens tonight (December 30) as the series returns for another madcap season.
However, some might be shocked to find out that Rita was born in another country and arrived in the UK as a refugee.
Rita was born in November 1990 in Pristina, Kosovo, to Albanian parents. She rose to fame in the early 2010s as a singer and has scored herself a hefty amount of hits, including How We Do (Party) and Anywhere.
Outside of music, Rita has ventured into fashion and become a regular face on television. Previously, she was a judge on The Voice and The X Factor. Currently, she is on the panel of The Masked Singer alongside Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan, and Jonathan Ross.
Rita’s family left Kosovo to escape persecution
When she was aged just one, Rita left Kosovo with her family to escape persecution. Moving to London, she told The Sun that her parents didn’t know how to speak English.
“I can speak fluent Albanian because we spoke it in the house,” she explained in 2012. “I’ve been back to Kosovo quite a lot. When someone expands to do something out of our country it’s a big deal because there aren’t many opportunities, unfortunately.”
In a 2020 interview with British Vogue, Rita revealed the reason her parents chose to live in London was because her father “loved the music and the culture”.
“My mom was a psychiatrist and my dad an economist. They left behind their whole lives and had to start from scratch when they arrived in London as refugees,” she told the magazine. “Protecting us was their main priority and I count my blessings every day that they did what they did.”
Rita doesn’t want her refugee past to be erased
Rita has been open about her refugee past in many interviews and is proud of where she came from.
In an interview with the Big Issue earlier this year, the Only Want You hitmaker stated she wants people to remember she came to the UK as a refugee.
She explained: “At this point in my career – I’ve been in the game 10 plus years now – I felt it was important to remind the public, as well as myself, of the journey.
“I know I deserve it because I work really hard. But there’s a lot of kids like me from where I’m from that it doesn’t really happen for. So I never take it for granted.”
Read more: The Masked Singer 2024: Everything we know so far!: ‘It’s amazing to be back’
The Masked Singer returns to ITV1 tonight (December 30) at 7pm.
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