Alicia Keys - Honorees - The Gordon Parks Foundation

Alicia Keys can be described as a modern-day Renaissance woman. She is a 14-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, an accomplished actress, a New York Times best-selling author, an entrepreneur and a powerful force in the world of philanthropy and in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. Since the 2001 release of her monumental debut album, songs in A minor, Keys has built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide. Keys has had buzz worthy performances in the films, Smokin’ Aces’ (2007), The Nanny Diaries (2007), and The Secret Life of Bees (2008). She made her directorial debut for Lifetime’s Five, which explored the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives and relationships, with a focus on how women look at themselves as they fight the disease and search for a cure. Keys also made her debut as a producer in 2011 with Lydia R. Diamond’s play Stick Fly for the Cort Theater for which Keys also composed the original music. A devoted and influential philanthropist, Keys co-founded Keep a Child Alive (KCA), and serves as Global Ambassador for the non-profit organization dedicated to providing life-saving, anti-retroviral treatment and resources to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and most recently, India.

 

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"Gordon was a genius - he understood what was happening and always captured it."