Who Is Rosemary Elikolani? The Amazing Life Story of Nicole Scherzinger’s Mother

Rosemary Elikolani is a Hawaiian hula dancer and the mother of singer, dancer and actress Nicole Scherzinger. Search engines often describe her as a dance artist, and her hula background explains that label. She raised Nicole in Honolulu and later in Louisville, Kentucky, often with very little money, and she gave her daughter an early education in grace, rhythm and performance. Rosemary has never chased fame, so reliable details about her life are limited. This article collects what trusted sources confirm, separates fact from speculation, and shows how a private mother helped shape one of the best known names in pop music and musical theatre.

Rosemary Elikolani at a Glance

Rosemary keeps her private life private, so many standard biography details stay unconfirmed. The table below lists only what reliable sources support and marks everything else clearly.

Detail	Information
Full name	Rosemary Elikolani (some websites add the surname Frederick, which is not confirmed by major sources)
Best known as	Mother of Nicole Scherzinger
Profession	Hula dancer; later worked as a clerk in Louisville, Kentucky
Date of birth	Not publicly confirmed
Place of birth	Hawaii, United States (reported)
Heritage	Native Hawaiian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian descent
First husband	Alfonso Valiente, of Filipino descent
Second husband	Gary Scherzinger, a German-American welder
Daughter	Nicole Scherzinger, born 29 June 1978 in Honolulu
Other family	Nicole’s younger sister, Keala Scherzinger
Religion	Nicole grew up Roman Catholic
Places lived	Honolulu, Hawaii; Louisville, Kentucky
Net worth	Not publicly known
Public profile	Low; she rarely gives interviews

Treat any website that lists an exact birthday, a net worth figure or a long career history for Rosemary with caution. Most of those pages copy each other and cite no source.

Early Life and Heritage

Rosemary grew up in Hawaii, a place that shaped her identity and her art. Wikipedia lists her ancestry as Native Hawaiian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian. Other outlets simplify that to Hawaiian and Russian or Hawaiian and Ukrainian, but the mix of cultures is consistent across reports.

Her family loved music. Nicole has said her grandmother sang and played the ukulele at home, and a Wright State University newsroom post that reposted an AskMen biography describes the family as full of entertainers. The same biography also names Rosemary as a professional hula dancer.

Faith played a part too. Wikipedia notes that Nicole’s grandfather was a priest, and Nicole herself grew up Roman Catholic. Rosemary’s own childhood details, such as her schools and siblings, have never been published by a reliable outlet.

That silence is her choice. Rosemary has not given a major interview or opened a public social media profile that tells her own story. Everything verified about her comes from what Nicole has said or from well-sourced biographies of Nicole.

Her Work as a Hula Dancer

Hula is more than a dance. It tells stories about land, family, gods and history through movement, chant and music. A dancer trains for years to learn the posture, the hand gestures and the meaning behind each phrase.

Nicole confirmed her mother’s role in an interview reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She said her mother danced hula and that the family had no money for formal lessons. Even so, she learned hula at a young age, and her mother always taught her to be graceful.

That detail matters. Nicole did not learn to perform in a studio. She learned it at home by watching a woman who understood stagecraft and cultural pride.

Rosemary did not build a famous stage career that anyone can document today. No reliable source lists her troupes, venues or dates, and the claims you may read online about tours or a clothing line are unsupported. What the evidence does show is a working hula dancer who passed her skills to the next generation.

The “dance artist” description on Google fits this record. It reflects her art form rather than a documented professional résumé.

Marriage, Divorce and the Move to Kentucky

Rosemary became a mother young. She married Alfonso Valiente, who has Filipino roots, and they had Nicole in Honolulu on 29 June 1978. Nicole’s birth name was Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, which keeps her mother’s family name in the middle.

The marriage did not last. According to Wikipedia, Alfonso divorced Rosemary and left the family when Nicole was two years old. Rosemary then raised her daughter largely on her own.

She later married Gary Scherzinger, a German-American welder. Gary adopted Nicole, and she eventually took his surname. Nicole’s younger sister, Keala, joined the household, and Wikipedia describes Keala as Nicole’s half-sister.

When Nicole was six, the family moved from Hawaii to Louisville, Kentucky. Wikipedia records that Rosemary worked as a clerk there while Gary worked as a welder.

Online sources disagree about whether Rosemary is Keala’s biological mother. Some say yes, and others say Keala is Gary’s daughter from an earlier relationship. Because major sources do not settle the question, treat that detail as unconfirmed.

Raising Nicole Scherzinger on a Tight Budget

Money was short in Louisville. Nicole has described a childhood without much spare cash, and Wikipedia says she worked as a teenager to help support her parents. She waited tables, took local fashion jobs and performed with an entertainment troupe at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park.

Those jobs show the work ethic of a household that expected everyone to contribute. Rosemary and Gary held steady jobs and kept the family together while Nicole chased small stage opportunities.

Rosemary also kept Hawaiian culture alive in a Kentucky home. Nicole has spoken proudly about her Hawaiian and Filipino roots, and she credits her mother with teaching her graceful movement from the start.

A family story that Nicole has shared also reveals the family’s warmth. Her aunt has Down syndrome, which inspired Nicole’s later work with the Special Olympics. That commitment to inclusion traces back to values taught at home.

How Rosemary Influenced Nicole’s Career

Nicole’s career reads like a long run of performance firsts. She joined the group Eden’s Crush after the television show Popstars in 2001. She then fronted the Pussycat Dolls, whose hit “Don’t Cha” made her an international name.

She later won the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars in the United States and became a judge on The X Factor in the United Kingdom. She also voiced the character Sina in the Disney film Moana and built a respected stage career in musical theatre.

Each of those paths depends on dance, and dance began with Rosemary. Nicole learned posture, timing and storytelling from hula before she took a single formal class.

Rosemary also gave Nicole resilience. A child who watches her mother work, move across the country and rebuild a family learns that effort matters more than luck.

Nicole has said her mother always taught her grace, and that lesson shows on stage. Every high-energy routine she performs rests on the calm, disciplined movement she first saw at home.

Rosemary and Nicole’s Bond Today

Nicole speaks about her mother with open affection. On Mother’s Day in 2020, she posted a throwback photo on Instagram and called her mother her “absolute everything” after God, according to Amomama.

That message captures the tone of their relationship. Nicole treats her mother as a partner and friend rather than a distant figure from her past.

Rosemary rarely appears at red carpet events and avoids the spotlight. When she does show up in photos, they usually come from Nicole’s own social media posts.

Her current address and daily life remain private, and no reliable outlet reports them. That privacy deserves respect, especially because Rosemary never asked for public attention.

Unverified websites claim Rosemary had breast cancer, ran a business or worked as a special education teacher. No major news outlet or biography backs these claims, so this article does not repeat them.

Why Rosemary Elikolani’s Story Matters

Rosemary’s story shows how cultural heritage travels. A Hawaiian dance tradition moved from Honolulu to Kentucky, and it reached millions of viewers through her daughter’s performances.

Her story also reflects a common reality for working families. She changed homes, raised children, held a regular job and still passed on her art without paid lessons or a big budget.

Readers connect with that honesty. Fans of Nicole often want to know who taught her to move, and the answer leads straight back to the family kitchen and living room in Hawaii and Kentucky.

Finally, Rosemary offers a lesson in privacy. She has shared her daughter with the world while protecting her own life, and that choice deserves as much respect as any stage career.

Do Not Confuse Her With Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani

The name Elikolani leads many readers to the wrong person. Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani was a 19th-century Hawaiian royal leader who lived from 1826 to 1883, and the National Park Service publishes her biography.

She has no connection to Nicole Scherzinger’s mother apart from a similar-sounding name and a shared Hawaiian setting. Some low-quality websites blend the two women and describe Rosemary as a queen, a princess or even a congresswoman.

Those claims are false. Rosemary Elikolani the hula dancer and Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani are different people from different centuries.

Check the source before you trust any page that gives Rosemary a royal title or a political career. Reliable references, such as Wikipedia and mainstream interviews with Nicole, never make those claims.

Conclusion

Rosemary Elikolani stands out as a hula dancer, a working mother and the first teacher of one of pop music’s most energetic performers. Verified details about her remain limited, but the record is clear on what matters most: she taught Nicole Scherzinger grace, culture and determination. Her quiet influence continues to show every time her daughter steps on stage.

Frequently Asked Questions About Rosemary Elikolani

1. Who is Rosemary Elikolani?

Rosemary Elikolani is a Hawaiian hula dancer and the mother of singer and actress Nicole Scherzinger. She raised Nicole in Hawaii and Kentucky and keeps a very private life.

2. What does Rosemary Elikolani do for a living?

Nicole and published biographies describe her as a hula dancer. Wikipedia adds that she later worked as a clerk in Louisville, Kentucky.

3. Why does Google call Rosemary Elikolani a dance artist?

Search engines pull that label from her hula background. No reliable source documents a long professional stage career, so the term describes her art form more than a résumé.

4. What is Rosemary Elikolani’s ethnicity?

Wikipedia lists Native Hawaiian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian descent. Other outlets mention only some of those backgrounds, but all agree she has Hawaiian roots.

5. Who was Rosemary Elikolani’s first husband?

Her first husband was Alfonso Valiente, a man of Filipino descent and Nicole’s biological father. Wikipedia says he divorced Rosemary and left the family when Nicole was two.

6. Who is Rosemary Elikolani’s current husband?

Reports name Gary Scherzinger, a German-American welder, as her husband. He adopted Nicole, and she took his surname.

7. How many children does Rosemary Elikolani have?

Nicole is her confirmed daughter. Nicole also has a younger sister named Keala, but sources disagree on whether Rosemary is Keala’s biological mother.

8. Where does Rosemary Elikolani live?

Rosemary lived in Honolulu and later moved to Louisville, Kentucky, with her family. Her current address is private, and no reliable source confirms it.

9. How old is Rosemary Elikolani?

Her birth date is not publicly confirmed. Some websites list an exact date, but they give no sources, so treat those numbers as unreliable.

10. Is Rosemary Elikolani related to Hawaiian royalty?

No reliable source links Nicole Scherzinger’s mother to Hawaiian royalty. Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, a 19th-century Hawaiian leader, is a separate historical figure.