Rogers was born and raised in the Frederick Douglass Houses in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth (1944–2000), and her mother's name, Evel… See more

In 1997, Kelis provided background vocals on "Fairytalez", a track on hip hop group Gravediggaz's album The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Afterward, a friend introduced Kelis to The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams… See more

From 2006 to 2010, Kelis trained part-time as a saucier, eventually graduating from Le Cordon Bleu. In 2013, Kelis debuted her sauce line, Feast, at the Beverly Hills Food & Wine Festival. Kelis has described sauce as "what ac… See more