Nigerian-born British singer Sade Adu turned 60 on Wednesday, January 16. The award-winning star who was born in 1959, Ibadan, Oyo state, has inspired many lives through her music.

The popular singer who is adored in Nigeria and across the world was born to a Nigerian father Adebisi and a British mother, Hayes. Her father was a professor while her mother was a nurse. Her mother moved 4-year-old Sade and her brother, Banji, to Essex, England, after her separation from the professor.

Sade lived the rest of her life in London and that was how she went down her career part. It had been obvious that the pop culture icon was a creative and curious soul as she tried to learn and work on everything she could despite her young age.

Taking a look through her life, Legit.ng gathered a list of things people need to know about the singer-songwriter.

1) Fashion: The icon had studied fashion after completing her secondary education. She studied fashion design at Satin Martin’s School of Art.

2) Modelling: Sade Adu who had a creative soul also dabbled in modelling while she was studying fashion design. She took modelling gigs available whenever she could.

3) Fame: Her talent was so great that over 1000 people did not get access into her first show on stage at a night club. The same year she signed a recording deal with Epic Records.

4) Achievements: Her first album Diamond Life was a best-selling debut by a female vocalist and it sold over six million copies. Sade Adu’s works are regarded as great contributions to the modern Jazz history. The icon is considered a musical influence across the world and one of the most successful female artists in British history.

5) Awards: Her album Promise got multiple platinum certifications in the United States and Europe. In 1986, the album also got her band the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. In 2002, Sade was given a high honour as she was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The singer during her heydays had been an inspiration for hairstyles due to the fact that she rocked her natural hair perfectly with new creative styles which are still being used till date.