Biography

Isabela Cristina Correia de Lima e Lima, better known by her stage name IZA, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, presenter and publicist. In 2019 IZA debuted as a judge on The Voice Brasil and was announced as drum queen of Imperatriz Leopoldinense. Her first album, Dona de Mim, was released in 2018 and received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Pop Album in Portuguese Language.

Born and raised in the neighborhood of Olaria, IZA is the daughter of music and arts teacher Isabel Cristina Lima and naval officer Djama Leite Lima. Her parents are second cousins, which is why the singer received the surname Lima twice. At the age of 6, she moved to Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, when her father was transferred to serve at the Natal Naval Base. As a child, she suffered racism for being one of the only black children in the school.

IZA started singing in a church choir as a child and, at age 14, began performing at parishes and other events when she returned to Rio de Janeiro. In 2009, aged eighteen, she enrolled in the Advertising and Propaganda course at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), graduating in 2012 and starting to work as a video editor. In 2015, at the same time, she created a YouTube channel and started posting videos singing songs by other artists.