Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, and actress born in London on 3 April 1985. Raised by a father of Afro-Guyanese descent and a mother of Welsh, Irish, and Italian heritage, she demonstrated an early passion for music. Her parents enrolled her in several performing arts institutions, including the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Italia Conti Academy, Ravenscourt Theatre School, and the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. At age 17, she left the BRIT School to pursue a career in music, funding her early recording sessions by working as a receptionist and a waitress.

Before her breakthrough, Lewis recorded demo material and was cast in a Paris production of The Lion King, though a back injury forced her to withdraw. In 2006, she achieved national recognition by winning the third series of the talent show The X Factor, securing a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her debut winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This," topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and set a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads in 30 minutes.

In 2007, Lewis signed a US deal with J Records. Her debut studio album, Spirit, reached number one internationally and became certified 10× platinum in the UK. The lead single, "Bleeding Love," topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and reached number one in the United States and numerous other nations. Subsequent singles from the album included "Better in Time," "Footprints in the Sand," "Forgive Me," and a cover of Snow Patrol's "Run."

Lewis's second studio album, Echo (2009), also topped the UK Albums Chart and featured the single "Happy." That year, she recorded "I See You" for the film Avatar. In 2011, she released the single "Collide" with Swedish DJ Avicii and her debut EP, Hurt: The EP. Her third album, Glassheart (2012), drew inspiration from electronic music and dubstep. She released her first holiday album, Christmas, with Love, in 2013, featuring the single "One More Sleep," followed by her fourth studio album, I Am, in 2015.

Lewis expanded her career into acting and modeling, making her film debut in Walking on Sunshine (2014) and her Broadway debut as Grizabella in Cats (2016). She signed with Wilhelmina Models in 2017, featured on the single "You Are the Reason" with Calum Scott in 2018, and took a recurring role on the television series The Oath in 2019. In 2021, she joined the show Queen of the Universe as a judge, and in 2025, she launched her Las Vegas concert residency, A Starry Night.

As of 2021, Lewis has sold over 35 million records worldwide. She became the first British female solo artist to chart eight top-five singles in the UK. Her accolades include two MOBO Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, and two World Music Awards, alongside nominations for six BRIT Awards and three Grammy Awards. Aside from her entertainment career, she is vegan and publicly supports animal rights causes.