Missy Elliott: Song of Strength Missy Elliott was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on July 1, 1971. Her childhood was traumatic: Her father violently abused her mother, and for several years, Elliott was sexually molested by a cousin. She found comfort in writing and singing music. Thankfully, when she was 13, she and her mother left her father. Though they barely scraped by financially, Elliott continued to find joy in creating music, even winning numerous local talent contents. As a young adult, Elliott formed the girl band Sista and landed an Elektra Records deal. When the group's album was permanently shelved, the determined artist gained her big breaks elsewhere, with work on Aaliyah's ""One in a Million"" and Gina Thompson's ""This Thing You Do."" She soon launched her own label, Gold Mind, and went on to write, produce and perform on her breakthrough 1997 album ""Supa Dupa Fly"" and in the accompanying groundbreaking videos. Just a few years later she earned a Grammy Award for the song