Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson (/ˈluːi ˈtɒmlɪnsən/;[1] born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson auditioned on the British music competition series The X Factor in 2010. After being eliminated as a solo performer, he was placed into a group with four other contestants which went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson
- Singer
- songwriter
- music producer
2010–present
1
Lottie Tomlinson (sister)
Vocals
Following the group's hiatus in 2016, Tomlinson released "Just Hold On" with Steve Aoki as a debut solo single in December 2016. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum in the UK. In 2017, he released "Back to You" with American singer Bebe Rexha and "Miss You". That same year, he appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.[2] In 2018, he appeared on the fifteenth series of The X Factor as a judge and a mentor of the "Boys" category.
In 2019, Tomlinson released the singles "Two of Us", "Kill My Mind", "We Made It", "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" and "Walls". His debut solo studio album, Walls, was released in January 2020, where it debuted at No. 4 in the UK and No. 9 in the US Billboard 200. Tomlinson's second studio album, Faith in the Future, was released in November 2022, where it debuted at No. 1 in the UK and No. 5 in the US Billboard 200.
Early life and family
Louis Troy Austin was born on 24 December 1991[3] in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, to then 18-year-old Johannah "Jay" Poulston and Troy Austin, who left when he was an infant.[4][5] He is estranged from his father and later took on his then stepfather Mark Tomlinson's surname, legally changing his name to Louis William Tomlinson.[6][7] He was raised with four younger half-sisters;[8] Charlotte, Félicité (2000–2019), and twins Phoebe and Daisy from Poulston's marriage to Mark.[9][10] He also has three other half-siblings; a younger paternal half-sister, Georgia, and twins Doris and Ernest (born 2014) from Poulston's relationship with Dan Deakin, whom she later married.[11][12] Tomlinson has some Belgian ancestry.[13]
Tomlinson attended The Hayfield School and later Hall Cross School (now Hall Cross Academy), both located in Doncaster.[14] He failed his first year of A levels at the Hayfield School and ended up going to Hall Cross School and starting his A levels again.[14] He had a number of jobs, including at a Vue cinema and at Doncaster Rovers football stadium as a waiter in the hospitality suites.[14][15] At Hall Cross, Tomlinson appeared in several musical productions, which gave him a growing sense of ambition and determination.[16][17][18] Taking the lead role of Danny Zuko in the Hall Cross musical production of Grease motivated him to audition for The X Factor.[17][19]
Career
Early career
Tomlinson, along with two of his siblings, had extra roles in Fat Friends.[14] After Fat Friends, he attended an acting school in Barnsley.[14] He had small parts in an ITV drama film If I Had You and BBC's Waterloo Road.[14]
When Tomlinson was 14, he was kicked out of a band and replaced with a new vocalist. The band was called The Rougue and they mainly did Oasis covers. Tomlinson has cited this experience as motivation for him to audition for The X Factor.[20] Tomlinson auditioned for The X Factor in 2009, but failed to progress past the producer's audition. He was determined to return the following year.[21]
Initiatives
Producing
In 2015, Tomlinson created his own record label, Triple Strings Ltd, as an imprint of his then label Syco Music.[102] It was reported he was working with Simon Cowell to create a girl band and held auditions in 2015.[103] He confirmed the news speaking to Noisey in 2017.[104][105][106] In 2021, having leaving Syco Music, he expressed interest in starting his own musical management company and owning a record label, commenting that the imprint did not fulfill his aim at nurturing prospective artists.[107] Triple Strings Ltd remained a dormant company as of December 2022.[108]
In 2023, upon Andrew Cushin supporting the North America and Europe legs of the Faith in the Future World Tour, it was announced Tomlinson, under 78 Productions, would be co-investing in Cushin's debut album Waiting for the Rain with Strap Originals.[109]
Philanthropy
Whilst One Direction has put forth group efforts towards charity work, Tomlinson himself has also been involved in charity work outside the band. He, along with band member Payne, co-hosted a charity ball held in honour of Believe in Magic, an organisation that supports terminally ill children.[151] Both Tomlinson and Payne got in a bidding war at the charity ball which resulted in Tomlinson donating £10,000 for Payne's face to be painted. He personally donated £2 million to Believe in Magic, while collectively he and Payne donated over £5 million.[151][152] Fellow band members Niall Horan and Harry Styles could not attend the event, but also donated items to be auctioned off for Believe in Magic.
Tomlinson has been involved with charity work for several years. He has been thoroughly involved with Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice and is one their patrons.[153] Tomlinson tends to get active social media to help boost support and awareness for his charity work. For his 23rd birthday, One Direction fans established a donation drive for Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice and set the bar high for the donation target.[154] Tomlinson also turned to social media along with some of his family members for the charity Niamh's Next Step. This gained the charity several hundred followers on their Twitter account which drew in more awareness to the cause.[155] During One Direction's hiatus, Tomlinson wants to increase his charity work with his newly found free time. He says about the charity work: "Being my age and being able to be in a position where I can help people out and give opportunities to other people is the most exciting thing to me."[57] According to Sarah Hext, whose son Harvey and family were personally supported by Tomlinson and his mother, "People don't know the real Louis, Jay has told me that when Louis suffers a bad press day he says to her 'come on mum, lets make someone happy today.' That's the kind of man Louis is."[156]
In April 2016, Tomlinson was announced to be joining the Soccer Aid 2016 star line-up, an biennial fundraiser for the children's organisation UNICEF. He played for the England squad alongside Robbie Williams, Olly Murs, Paddy McGuinness, Jack Whitehall, Marvin Humes, John Bishop and others on 5 June 2016.[157] Tomlinson played against his bandmate Niall Horan, who appeared for the Rest of the World team.[158]
Tomlinson shared donation links, made donations himself, and voiced his support for the Black Lives Matter movement in May and June 2020. He attended the George Floyd protests in London with his now ex-girlfriend Eleanor Calder.[159][160]
Personal life
Tomlinson began dating then-student Eleanor Calder in November 2011.[161] They split in March 2015,[162] reunited in early 2017, and broke up again in 2022, as announced in January 2023.[163][164] In July 2015, it was reported Tomlinson was expecting a child with then 23-year-old stylist Briana Jungwirth.[165] On 4 August 2015, on Good Morning America, the reports were confirmed.[166][167][168] Tomlinson and Jungwirth welcomed a son on 21 January 2016.[169][170][171][172] Tomlinson was in a relationship with actress Danielle Campbell from November 2015 to December 2016.[173]
In December 2016, Tomlinson's mother, Johannah Deakin, died of leukaemia at the age of 43.[174] In March 2019, Tomlinson's younger sister, Félicité Tomlinson, died from an accidental overdose at the age of 18.[10] Tomlinson owns a home in Barnet, North London, which he bought in 2012.[175][176] He also owned a home in the Hollywood Hills as of 2016, but put it up for sale in 2020.[177]
On 4 March 2017, an altercation at Los Angeles International Airport involving a paparazzo and aggressive fans waiting for the singer resulted in Tomlinson being detained by airport security and initially being charged with a misdemeanour, posting bail soon after.[178] The matter was reportedly resolved by April 2017 and charges against Tomlinson were dropped,[179] citing the footage of the events captured by another paparazzo that had surfaced soon after.[180] Tomlinson's lawyer Marty Singer said in a statement to Rolling Stone, "The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation with Louis at the airport this morning. This is not the first or the last time that a paparazzi [sic] has created an altercation with a celebrity."[181]
In November 2022, Tomlinson broke his upper right arm in a fall after a performance in New York and underwent surgery. His in-person promotional events that month were rescheduled for December.[182]
Studio albums
