Best known as the lead singer of one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger now breathes life to Moana’s playful and strong-willed mother, Sina, in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 56th animated feature “Moana.”
Also featuring the voices of Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho, “Moana” is a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people.
Moana’s mother always has her back. Playful, sharp and strong-willed, Sina appreciates Moana’s longing to be on the water. But much like Tui, her hard-headed husband, Sina wants to protect her daughter from the fabled dangers beyond the reef. Above all, Sina trusts Moana to make the right decisions.
“Sina reminds me of all the women in my family—my ohana,” says Scherzinger. “She’s fun, she’s playful, but she’s also very strong. I feel like she’s the backbone of a family, as women often are.”
“She is very loving and caring,” adds head of animation Amy Smeed, “but also has a little spunk to her which comes through in Village Song in the way she bounces as she sings.”
Scherzinger is a Grammy®-nominated triple threat. She has accrued No. 1 singles on both sides of the Atlantic, selling 37 million singles worldwide, 16 million records as a solo artist and a staggering 54 million albums as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. The incredibly accomplished singer, dancer and television personality stars as Penny in the highly anticipated “Dirty Dancing” remake for ABC. Scherzinger teamed up with Neil Patrick Harris to co-host his new NBC primetime variety series “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.” Harris previously directed Scherzinger in a special engagement of the Tony® Award-winning musical “Rent” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, for which she received rave reviews for her performance as Maureen.
The “X Factor” judge (both the U.S. & UK versions of the show) has also made a name for herself on the West End stage. By far one of her greatest recent achievements was a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for her debut performance as Grizabella in a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats.” In a BBC radio interview, Webber called Scherzinger’s recording of the famed hit single “Memory” the “best recording of anything of my music ever done.”
Outside of her work in the entertainment industry, Scherzinger is an ambassador for UNICEF and a global ambassador for the Special Olympics.
Opening across the Philippines on Nov. 30, “Moana” is distributed in the Philippines by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtags #MoanaPH and #FindYourWay.