Charlotte Church
Singer, presenter and activist
Charlotte Maria Church was born on 21 February 1986 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, and first sang in public at the age of three and a half, performing the 'Ghostbusters' theme with her cousin at a holiday camp in Caernarfon. She began formal voice lessons at nine, and her voice matured with remarkable speed.
She shot to national attention at age eleven after singing 'Pie Jesu' on British television, which led to a recording contract and her debut album 'Voice of an Angel' (1998). The album topped the UK classical chart and made her, at twelve, the youngest artist ever to do so, launching a career as one of the most recognisable classical crossover singers of her generation.
As an adult, Church moved into pop music with the 2005 album 'Tissues and Issues', and went on to host her own chat show, 'The Charlotte Church Hour', act, and become an outspoken political and social activist — including as a prominent campaigner during the UK phone-hacking scandal. Cardiff-born and Welsh through and through, she has remained closely associated with her home city and with Welsh cultural and public life throughout her career.