Andra Day Biography

Andra Day is the stage name of singer and songwriter Cassandra Monique Batie, a Grammy nominated performer who won an Oscar nomination for portraying Billie Holiday on film in 2020.

Day grew up in San Diego and has been a singer and songwriter since her teens. After getting out of school in 2003, she worked odd jobs while performing and trying to break into show business.

By 2013 things were looking up, and she released her debut album Cheers to the Fall in 2015.

Her stunning voice and original songs got critical attention and she was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2016. Her album was nominated in the R&B category, and so was the single “Rise Up.”

The anthemic, inspirational “Rise Up” helped her career, and in 2016 Day sang at the Democratic National Convention and collaborated with a number of well-known artists, from Stevie Wonder to Common.

Day’s acting job as singer Holiday in Lee Daniels‘s biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday brought an Oscar nomination for best leading actress.