Rita Ora

An appearance in an episode of the British drama series, The Brief, was her first acting role, at age 13. Shortly after, she appeared in the British film, Spivs (2004). She also began performing at open mic sessions around London and, occasionally, in her father's pub. In 2008, she auditioned for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One to be the British contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified, but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she "did not feel ready" and thought "that challenge wasn't for her." Her manager, Sarah Stennett (who also worked with Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Conor Maynard), later told HitQuarters that she reassured Ora that performing in Eurovision would hinder, rather than help her chances to make it as a solo artist.

Shortly after, Ora's management got in touch with the American label, Roc Nation, and told them about her. Ora signed a recording deal and a publishing deal with Roc Nation in December 2008, and was one of their first signees. She made a cameo appearance in Jay Z's video for "Young Forever" (2009). After being signed, Ora recorded an album and wanted to release it, but her label advised against it and she started to work on other material for her debut album.

Throughout 2011, Ora released covers and videos about working on her debut album on YouTube. The videos caught the attention of DJ Fresh, who at that time was looking for a female vocalist for his song, "Hot Right Now". Ora featured on the single that was released on 12 February 2012, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart. During February 2012, Ora was also the opening act at the UK concerts from Drake's Club Paradise Tour. The first UK single from her debut album, "R.I.P." (featuring Tinie Tempah), was released on 6 May 2012. Produced by Chase & Status, the song debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming her first solo UK number one. On 12 August, "How We Do (Party)" was released as a single, and it reached number one in the UK and Ireland. It was Ora's second UK number one as a solo artist, and third overall in 2012.

Whilst supporting Coldplay on their Mylo Xyloto Tour, she later announced that her debut album would be titled Ora. The album was released on 27 August 2012 in Europe and Oceania, and debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart. Ora was nominated for Best New Artist, Push Artist and Best UK/Ireland Act at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. In September 2012, it was announced that Ora would be the opening act on the UK concerts from Usher's Euphoria Tour set to start in January 2013. However, the tour was postponed due to Usher's "professional and personal commitments." "Shine Ya Light", released on 4 November, became Ora's fourth consecutive UK top ten single in 2012, peaking at number ten. On 28 November 2012, Ora performed as a special guest at the concert held in Tirana, Albania for the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania.

In January 2013, Ora embarked on her first UK tour, Radioactive Tour, to support her debut album. She was nominated for three awards at the 2013 Brit Awards, including the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act. Also in January 2013, Ora revealed that her second album would be clearer and have more direction than the first one. On 26 February 2013, she revealed to Digital Spy that her second album shows a different angle to a "party girl." On 24 May 2013, Ora was the headline act on In New Music We Trust stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. On 28 June 2013, she performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

In 2014, she had two top-five UK singles; the song "I Will Never Let You Down" which debuted at number one, and she featured on Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow" which peaked at number four in the UK, and the latter became Ora's first top ten song on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number three. On 14 December 2014, Ora performed at the 2014 telecast of Christmas in Washington, filmed at the National Building Museum. In February 2015, Ora featured on Charli XCX song, "Doing It", which debuted at number eight in the UK. In April 2014, Ora appeared alongside Korean popstar, Hyuna, in an episode of Funny or Die called "Girl, You Better Walk."

In 2015, she played Christian Grey's sister, Mia, in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey, a role she later reprised in the film's two sequels. Ora originally approached the production hoping to contribute to the film's soundtrack and instead was asked to audition for the role of Mia Grey by the director of the film, Sam Taylor-Johnson. On 22 February 2015, at the 87th Academy Awards, she performed the song "Grateful", which appears in Gina Prince-Bythewood's film, Beyond the Lights (2014). In December 2015, Ora filed a lawsuit against Roc Nation, seeking release from the label and citing that the contract she signed in 2008 is "unenforceable", due to California's "seven-year rule". The complaint stated that she's "only been permitted to release one album despite creating multiple additional records for release" and that her relationship with Roc Nation is "irrevocably damaged". In 2015, she was a coach on the fourth series of The Voice UK on BBC One, replacing Kylie Minogue. The same year, it was confirmed that Ora and BBC Radio 1 presenter, Nick Grimshaw, signed as judges for the twelfth series of The X Factor on the rival TV network, ITV, after a bidding war between The X Factor and The Voice UK. She hosted the BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards, alongside Grimshaw, several times (from 2013 to 2017).

In January 2016, Roc Nation filed a counter-lawsuit against Ora for breaking her recording contract, in New York. They reached a settlement in May 2016. In June 2016, it was reported that she signed a new record deal with Atlantic Records. In July 2016, Tyra Banks, the creator of America's Next Top Model, announced that Ora would replace her as host of the revamped show which aired on VH1. On 3 September 2016, she performed in a concert at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, at the vigil for Mother Teresa's canonisation, alongside other Albanian artists, accompanied by the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra.

On 26 May 2017, Ora released her first solo single in almost two years, titled "Your Song", which peaked at number seven in the UK. The song served as the lead single from Ora's second studio album, after previous attempts at her second record were lost in her lawsuit against her former label, Roc Nation. The second single, "Anywhere", became her eleventh top ten song in the UK, peaking at number two. Ora hosted the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards on 12 November in London, at Wembley Arena.

In January 2018, Ora released the song "For You" (with Liam Payne), from the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Freed. On 18 September 2018, Ora revealed the title of her second studio album, Phoenix, and its release date, 23 November. On 21 September, she released the album's fourth single, "Let You Love Me". The song reached number four in the UK, marking Ora's 13th top-ten song, thus breaking a 30-year-old record for most top ten songs by a British female solo artist (previously jointly held by Shirley Bassey and Petula Clark).

From March 1 to April 2019, she went on the Phoenix World Tour in Europe, Asia and Oceania. In April 2019, Ora released the song "Carry On" with Norwegian producer Kygo, as a standalone single for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, a film in which she also briefly appears. On 31 May, she released the song "Ritual", with Tiësto and Jonas Blue. In September 2019, Ora confirmed to Marie Claire that she had begun working on her third studio album. She provided further details regarding the music with NME, stating that "people have been coming to studio sessions from all over the world. I've been working on this now for the past two years, on and off. I have plans for this third album to be something I've never done before."

From January 2020, Ora has judged the UK version of the music game show The Masked Singer. From 2021 to 2023, she was a coach on The Voice Australia. In the January 2021 film Twist, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, Ora played the Artful Dodger.On 12 February 2021, Ora released the collaborative extended play, Bang, with Kazakh producer Imanbek. In February 2022, Ora signed a record deal with Berlin-based music label, BMG.

Ora hosted the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards, with Taika Waititi, on 13 November in Düsseldorf, Germany. In February 2022, she was announced to act in the Disney+ prequel–an eight-episode limited series–to the 2017 film, Beauty and The Beast, in a role described as a "fugitive with surprising abilities who carries with her a secret that could potentially affect an entire kingdom", but the project has been put on hold indefinitely.

On 27 January 2023, she released the song, "You Only Love Me", as the lead single from her third studio album,You & I. On 19 April, she released the song, "Praising You", in collaboration with Fatboy Slim, and announced that the album would be released on 14 July. You & I debuted at number six in the United Kingdom. In September 2023, Fox announced that Ora would join the American version of The Masked Singer as a judge.