Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s parents emigrated to Canada from Ethiopia in the 1980s.
Tesfaye was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye on February 16, 1990, in the Toronto area and grew up in Scarborough. His parents, Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, were Ethiopian immigrants. They separated when he was very young, so his mother and maternal grandmother played the central roles in raising him.
Ethiopian culture remained an important part of Tesfaye’s childhood. Amharic was his first language, and he attended an Ethiopian Orthodox church with his grandmother. He has also spoken about Ethiopian music and food as influences on his identity. A common mix-up is assuming that The Weeknd is American because of his international career; he is Canadian, born and raised around Toronto.
Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009 and became widely known after his 2011 mixtapes. His Ethiopian-Canadian background remains a notable part of his public story.