13 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Grimes

Get to know Canadian musician and billionaire Elon Musk’s partner, Grimes.

After making their relationship public in 2018 at the annual Met Gala, Canadian musician Grimes and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk captured the spotlight. In May of 2020, the couple welcomed their first child, X Æ A-12, before revealing the birth of their daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl, in late 2021.

Although known to some as Musk’s ex-partner, Grimes is a successful musician from Canada with a large following of her own. Her electronic pop music showcases her versatility as an artist as she writes, produces, and edits her own albums.

Aside from music, Grimes is also a visual artist, often delighting her 1.7 million Instagram followers with illustrations and posters that she creates herself, showcasing her punk, goth, and e-girl aesthetic. Her eccentric style and personality make the artist somewhat of an enigma that keeps her fans enamored.

On her 35th birthday, get to know the creative force with 13 fascinating facts about Grimes.

1 / 13

clothing apparel person human leisure activities dance pose

Her real name is Claire Elise Boucher and in 2018, she changed her name to c Boucher as “c” is the symbol for the speed of light.

person human adventure leisure activities clothing apparel outdoors nature rock

During a campaign in collaboration with Stella McCartney x Adidas, the singer revealed her robust wellness regimen that includes maintaining a healthy "cellular routine" by maximizing the function of her mitochondria by taking NAD+, Acetyl L-Carnitine, and Magnesium supplements in addition to spending two to four hours in a deprivation tank.

Back in 2013, Grimes was invited to collaborate with Saint Laurent for a capsule collection of t-shirts, which she made the illustrations for. She had also previously designed vagina-shaped rings.

clothing apparel person human overcoat coat

Grimes attended McGill University in Montreal where she studied Neuroscience and Russian.

As a means to cure seasonal depression, Grimes submitted herself to an experimental eye-surgery removing the top film of her eyeball and replacing it with an orange ultra-flex polymer, completely eliminating blue light from her vision.

In a 2016 interview with NPR, Grimes expressed that during her young years, she was made fun of for her lisp.

person human clothing apparel fashion evening dress gown robe

Her daily exercise routine includes hiking and a one to two hour sword fighting session.

As part of her vocal training regimen, Grimes treats herself to a 25-minute screaming session and a cup of honey tea to maximize her vocal proficiency.

clothing apparel person human robe fashion gown wedding

She and Musk met each other through Twitter and immediately bonded over their mutual fascination for artificial intelligence.

costume person human clothing apparel plant dress

While pregnant with Musk’s baby, Grimes got tortured with electric shocks, cheese, and feathers while performing on ‘The Eric Andre Show.’

On May 4, 2020, the couple welcomed their baby X Æ A-Xii Musk, who they are raising gender neutral. Grimes explained the meaning behind the name on Twitter, saying X is “the unknown variable,” Æ is "my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence),” A-12 is the “precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent,” and also that A corresponds to her favorite song, “Archangel.”