All About Cardi B’s Parents, Clara and Carlos Almánzar

Cardi B says her parents are her “biggest blessings.”

Formerly residing in New York’s Bronx borough, the rapper’s father Carlos Almánzar, is Dominican while her mother, Clara, is Trinidadian. They welcomed their daughter on Oct. 11, 1992, in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood and raised her at their home in the South Bronx and Cardi’s paternal grandmother’s home in Washington Heights.

The Grammy-winning artist often shows love for her parents on social media, celebrating them on their birthdays or holidays like Mother’s and Father’s Day. Shortly after the birth of her daughter Kulture in 2018, Cardi posted a sweet video on Instagram where she thanked her parents for their support during her delivery.

“I’ve been blessed since birth,” she said in the video. “Because of my parents. Like those are my biggest blessings and I’m so thankful and I’m so grateful for them.”

Since becoming a mom, Cardi has been outspoken on how great her parents are as grandparents to her daughter and son Wave, both of whom the rapper welcomed with Offset. In 2020, Cardi wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that her mom is the “greatest grandma in the world” while wishing her a happy birthday.

From their careers to how they support Cardi with her kids, here’s everything to know about Cardi B’s parents, Carlos and Clara Almánzar.

Carlos was a cab driver

Carlos immigrated to America from the Dominican Republic in 1990. According to Cardi, her father worked as a cab driver in New York for nine years before retiring around the time her rap career began to take off. In 2019, Cardi reacted to an episode of The New York Times’ television series, The Weekly, that explored the unfair working conditions cab drivers in New York face.

“My dad till this day still campaigns for cab drivers because this is some of the bulls--- they deal with,” she wrote on X atop a video segment from the show, adding some of the costs cab drivers incur and noting that customers can be rude. "Please be nice to cab drivers," she concluded her message.

Meanwhile, her mother, Clara, used to work a job as a cashier, according to Yahoo.

They are divorced

Cardi confirmed that her parents got divorced when she was 13 years old. In 2022, she asked her fans on X, “How do people really feel when their parents get divorce?”

The rapper then posted a video where she explained why she asked that question saying, “OK guys so the reason I asked about the divorce question, to be honest with you, is I have a cousin, we’re both the same age and everything. Our parents separated around the same time.”

“Me when I was 13 I’m not going to lie, I’m not trying to sound vain or anything, but when my parents got separated I wasn’t really sad about it because I just feel like I had more freedom,” she added. “Both my parents were not on my a--  at the same time, I could go outside without one parent noticing and stuff like that.”

They share two children

Carlos and Clara welcomed two children together, Cardi and her younger sister Hennessy Carolina.

Born on Dec. 22 1995, in the Bronx, Hennessy is an influencer, reality TV star and fashion designer.

Clara was a strict parent

In a 2016 digital cover with Vibe magazine, Cardi described her mom as “very serious,” and said she was often strict with her and her sister while growing up. The rapper later explained in a 2023 conversation with Mariah Carey for Interview magazine that she believed her mom was strict in order to protect her from growing up too fast.

“I always wanted to be what my mom didn’t let me be,” Cardi said. “I wanted to wear small shirts and have my belly out and wear little kitty heels.”

“I think she didn’t want me to grow up so fast, because the kids around my neighborhood grew up fast,” she also said in the interview. “That’s why my mom was always scared. There was teen pregnancy all around us. She was just being a mom.”

Clara inspired Cardi to end her stripping career

Cardi has been outspoken about her past career as a stripper, regularly using her platform to shed light on the working conditions dancers face, the respect they should be afforded and how the job helped her escape an abusive relationship. Although Cardi fully embraces her past, she admits that she initially lied to her parents about what she was doing, revealing on Kocktails with Khloé in 2016 that and told them she was making money through babysitting instead.

When Cardi eventually told her mom she was working as a dancer, Clara wasn’t pleased which pushed Cardi to exit the industry. Speaking to drag queen Naomi Smalls in a 2018 video for Cosmopolitan, the Grammy-winning artist revealed that she credits her mom with the end of her stripping career.

“When my mom found out I was a dancer, she was pretty upset,” Cardi said, going on to explain that her mom's views pushed her to strive for something else. “Me knowing that she used to hate it, it didn’t allow me to get comfortable with what I was doing,” she said.

Her career then skyrocketed with the release of her chart-topping hit, “Bodak Yellow,” cementing Cardi’s presence in the music industry.

They help Cardi with her kids

Over the years, Cardi has repeatedly shared how thankful she is of her parents’ support with her children and on her journey as a mom. In July 2018, the rapper posted a video on Instagram a few days after Kulture’s birth expressing gratitude for her parents’ help with the newborn.

“My mom has not left my side not one time,” she said in the video. “This is her first grandkid. The last time she had a kid was 22 years ago, so this is all new to her again just as it is new to me.”

“My dad, you know, he’s just running errands for me in New York,” she added. “To have that extra hand I’m just really grateful ... I’m just sitting here like God, thank you so much for these great amazing parents.”

Carlos passed down a love of food to his daughter

In a 2018 post celebrating Father’s Day, Cardi wrote on X that her and Carlos are “personality twins,” and said that one thing they have in common is a love for making jokes.

The rapper has also posted snack ideas, dishes and cuisines her dad introduced to her while she was growing up. One snack she enjoys that she credits to her father is tomatoes with salt. Writing on X in 2018, Cardi shared, “I can eat tomatoes like an apple but on every bite I have to sprinkle salt. My dad put me on to that as a child. Bardi loves tomatoes.”

Carlos also introduced Cardi to traditional dishes from the Dominican Republic. In 2021, she posted a video on X of her stirring mondongo, a stew made from diced tripe and vegetables that is a staple in the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries. “Who likes this beside me?” she captioned the video. “I got it from my dad.”

Clara is into wellness and health

According to Cardi, her mother is a total “health freak.” Writing on X in 2020, Cardi shared, “I think my mom gets chest pains when Kulture eats fast food. She wants Kulture to be as clean and organic as she can be.”

She then went on to explain that Clara makes “press green juice every single day” and that when Offset was visiting, she tried to make him “beets juice with carrots.”

“Telling ya my mom is a health freak,” she replied to a fan on X the same day. “But then again I used to get very very sick [as a child] so I get why she used to be sooo heavy on the healthy lifestyle,” she added.

Cardi gets some of her music taste from her mom

Cardi grew up in a household where music was often playing and has credited her mom for some of her music taste and favorite artists.

The rapper is famously a huge fan of the Pet Shop Boys which she says she owes to her mom. “Pet shop boys are a really underrated group,” she wrote on X in 2021. “I love them!! My mom always used to listen to them.”

The “Bodak Yellow” artist is also a fan of Madonna and says it’s a love her mom passed down to her. In 2016, Cardi posted a video on X of her singing along to Madonna’s “Into the Groove,” captioning the video “My mom is a big Madonna fan and she passed it down to me.”