Leona Lewis British Singer Born 1985 in Islington

Early life

Leona Louise Lewis was born on 3 April 1985 in Islington, London. Her parents saw how much she wanted to sing and sent her to stage schools, among them the Sylvia Young Theatre School and later the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon, making sacrifices at home to cover the cost. She left the BRIT School in her teens to pursue music directly, writing and recording her own material and paying for studio time with jobs as a receptionist at a solicitor's office and a waitress. Two demo recordings from those years, Twilight and Best Kept Secret, did not bring her a record deal at the time.

Career

Lewis entered the third series of the ITV competition The X Factor in 2006, auditioning with "Over the Rainbow", and won the final on 16 December 2006 ahead of Ray Quinn, taking about 60 per cent of more than eight million votes. The prize was a recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", became the UK Christmas number one and set a record for downloads, passing 50,000 in under half an hour.

In February 2007 she signed a five-album agreement in the United States with J Records. Her debut album, Spirit, came out in November 2007 and went straight to number one in the UK and Ireland. Its second single, "Bleeding Love", spent seven weeks at the top in the UK and later reached number one in the United States, making her the first British artist to top the American albums chart with a debut. In August 2008 she sang "Whole Lotta Love" with Jimmy Page at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, which marked the handover to London.

Her second album, Echo, was released worldwide in November 2009 and went to number one in the UK. She also recorded "I See You", the theme for the film Avatar. Her first tour, The Labyrinth, ran from May 2010, and a live recording from the O2 followed that November. She released the single "Collide" in 2011, which reached number one on the US dance club chart, and the covers collection Hurt: The EP in December of that year. Glassheart, her third album, followed in October 2012, led by the single "Trouble". Christmas, with Love came out in December 2013; its single "One More Sleep" reached number three in the UK, giving her eight top-five singles, a record for a British female solo artist at that point.

In 2014 she appeared in the musical film Walking on Sunshine and left Syco to sign with Island Records UK. Her fifth album, I Am, was released on 11 September 2015, preceded by the singles "Fire Under My Feet" and "Thunder". The next year she made her Broadway debut as Grizabella in the revival of Cats. In 2018 she recorded "You Are the Reason" with Calum Scott, and in 2019 she took a recurring part in the series The Oath. She became a judge on the Paramount+ series Queen of the Universe in 2021. A Las Vegas residency titled A Starry Night was announced for the end of 2025.

Recognition

"Bleeding Love" won the Record of the Year award in December 2007. Lewis received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards, for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, and she won two MOBO Awards in 2008. She was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 New Year Honours, for services to music and charity.

Public roles

Lewis has been vocal in support of animal welfare and is a patron of the Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Essex. In 2013 she became a brand activist for The Body Shop, and in 2017 she took an ambassador role with MTV Staying Alive, a campaign on HIV and AIDS education. She was named official patron of the Hackney Empire in June 2021.

Personal life

Lewis married the dancer and choreographer Dennis Jauch in July 2019 in Tuscany, Italy. She has followed a vegan diet since September 2012.