Camila Cabello — Biography

Camila Cabello was born to Alejandro Cabello and Sinuhe Estrabao in the Habana del Este neighborhood of Cojímar in Havana, Cuba. Alejandro, a Mexican native from Mexico City, relocated to Cuba, while Sinuhe is Cuban. She has a younger sister named Sofia. Throughout her childhood, the family frequently transitioned between Havana and Mexico City, where Cabello became a Mexican citizen in 1997. At the age of six, Cabello and her mother crossed the Mexican border into the United States, embarking on a prolonged 36-hour Greyhound bus trip to Miami after just one day of waiting for entry clearance. Her mother told her they were going to Disney World to motivate her for the move. They settled with a family friend of Cabello's grandfather, who later became her godmother. Cabello's mother dedicated herself to learning English through nighttime classes. Meanwhile, Cabello's father struggled to obtain a visa but joined the family approximately 18 months later, initially working as a carwasher in front of Dolphin Mall. Cabello's mother, who held an architecture degree from Cuba, worked at Marshalls before being encouraged to pursue architecture again by two Cuban coworkers. She mastered AutoCAD within a week and successfully transitioned back into her field. Eventually, Cabello's parents established a construction company, named after Camila and her sister. In 2008, she became a U.S. citizen.

Cabello attended Miami Palmetto High School but left during her ninth-grade year (2012-2013) to focus on her music career, later earning her diploma. She auditioned for the talent competition show The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina, singing Aretha Franklin's "Respect." Although the audition was not broadcast due to licensing issues, she was brought back during the Miami boot camp stage along with Ally Brooke, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Dinah Jane to form the girl group known as Fifth Harmony. They finished third overall and signed a joint contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. The group released the EP Better Together in 2013 and followed it with the studio albums Reflection in 2015 and 7/27 in 2016, featuring hits like "Worth It" and "Work from Home," which secured spots in the top 10 of various international charts. From 2013 until late 2016, Cabello participated in numerous tours with Fifth Harmony.

In November 2015, she joined forces with Shawn Mendes for the duet "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which reached number 20 in the U.S. and 18 in Canada, achieving platinum status from the RIAA. On October 14, 2016, she collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly on "Bad Things," which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. That year, Cabello was featured on Time's "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2016" list. On December