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Leona Lewis
Name: Leona Lewis
DOB: 3 April 1985
Birth Place: Islington, London, United Kingdom
Claim to fame: Singer-songwriter and X Factor winner
Star Facts
- Leona has been a vegetarian since she was 12 years old
- A Moment Like This became the UK’s fastest selling single, downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes
- Leona’s album Spirit made her the first British solo act to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album
- Leona now has her own clothing label
Biography
Top pop ballad belter and X Factor champion Leona Lewis was born and brought up in London where she attended the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School and the equally famous Italia Conti Academy. On top of this she went to the BRIT School too, learning guitar and piano as well as singing opera, jazz and pop.
After leaving the BRIT School at 17 she tried in vain to get a record contract, working several jobs to make ends meet and pay for recording time. She was about ready to give up on a music career when her boyfriend suggested she try out for The X Factor.
Leona auditioned and was mentored by Simon Cowell, eventually winning that competition and a £1 million recording contract to boot. Her first single, A Moment Like This, went straight to the top of the charts and was the 2006 UK Christmas number one.
International megastardom followed, with her debut album being the first ever by a British solo act to go straight to the top of the Billboard 200 in America. Book deals, clothing lines and perfume ranges followed too, and she’s just bought herself a Hollywood mansion.