Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

and a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

. Allen's musical career began in 2005 when she was signed to Regal Recordings and began publishing her vocal recordings on the social networking site

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. Their popularity resulted in airplay on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. Her 2006 debut commercial single, "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart by July of that year and received double Platinum certification by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI). Allen's debut studio album, '' Alright, Still'' (2006), was met with positive critical reception, peaked at number two on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, and sold over 2.6 million copies worldwide. The album also yielded a

nomination for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

and spawned the follow up singles " LDN" and " Alfie". Her second studio album, ''

It's Not Me, It's You ''It's Not Me, It's You'' is the second studio album by English singer Lily Allen, released on 4 February 2009 by Regal Recordings and Parlophone. It was produced and co-written by Greg Kurstin, with whom Allen had previously worked on her deb ...

'' (2009), debuted atop the UK Albums Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts, and spawned the singles " The Fear", "

Not Fair "Not Fair" is a song by British singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal ...

" and " Fuck You". This success saw her receive the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist at the 2010 Brit Awards. Allen and

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

were credited with starting a process that led to the "year of the women" media label in 2009 that saw five female artists making music of "experimentalism and fearlessness" nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. Her third album, '' Sheezus'' (2014), peaked atop the UK Albums Chart once more, while her fourth album, '' No Shame'' (2018) peaked at number eight. Allen also ventured into other careers; in 2008, she hosted her own television talk show, ''

Lily Allen and Friends ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

'', on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

before launching her own record label, In the Name Of, in 2011. In 2018, Allen released her autobiographical book, '' My Thoughts Exactly''. As an actress, Allen appeared in the 2019 film '' How to Build a Girl''. In 2021, she made her West End debut in the new play '' 2:22 A Ghost Story'', for which she received a

nomination for Best Actress. She is a daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.

Early life

Allen was born on 2 May 1985 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, west London, to Keith Allen, a Welsh-born actor, and British film producer Alison Owen. She has an elder sister, Sarah; a younger brother, actor Alfie (subject of her song " Alfie"); and a younger sister, Rebecca. Alison Owen was from a devoutly Catholic working-class

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

family, and was 17 when she gave birth to Sarah. Allen is the goddaughter of director Daniel Kleinman and Wild Colonials vocalist Angela McCluskey and a third cousin of singer Sam Smith. At the age of three, Allen appeared in '' The Comic Strip Presents...'' episode " The Yob", which her father had co-written. When she was four, her father left the family. During her early childhood, Allen lived with her family on a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

. They later settled in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

. For that time, the family lived with comedian

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', '' Harry Enfield & Chums'' and '' Harry & Paul'', across which he created ...

whilst her mother dated him.

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

singer and guitarist

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

was close to Allen. Allen attended 13 schools, including King Charles III's junior alma mater Hill House School and Bedales School, and was expelled from several of them for drinking and smoking. When Allen was eleven, former

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

music student Rachel Santesso overheard her singing " Wonderwall" by

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and composer, called Allen into her office the next day and started giving her lunchtime singing lessons. This led to Allen singing " Baby Mine" from Disney's '' Dumbo'' at a school concert. Allen told ''

Loveline ''Loveline'' is a radio syndication, syndicated radio Talk show, call-in program in North America that features medical and relationship advice, often with guest appearances by actors and musicians. For most of its original run until ending in ...

'' that the audience was "brought to tears at the sight of a troubled young girl doing something good". At that point Allen said she knew that music was something she needed to do either as a lifelong vocation or to get it out of her system. She played the piano to grade 5 standard and achieved grade 8 in singing. Allen also played violin, guitar and trumpet, and was a member of a chamber choir. Her first solo was " In the Bleak Midwinter". In 1998, Allen appeared in the music video to the Fat Les song " Vindaloo". She dropped out of school aged fifteen, not wanting to "spend a third of her life preparing to work for the next third of her life, to set herself up with a pension for the next third of her life."

Music career

2001–2005: Career beginnings

When her family went to

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

on holiday, Allen told her mother that she was staying with friends but remained in Sant Antoni de Portmany instead. She earned money by working at a Plastic Fantastic record store and dealing ecstasy at the age of 15. Allen met her first manager, George Lamb, in Ibiza. She first recorded the vocals for "On Me Head Not Off Me Head" written by her father for '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' in 2001, and was featured in the 2002 song by her father's group Fat Les, "Who Invented Fish and Chips". She started to work with music producers, and recorded a demo. She was rejected by several labels, which she attributed to her drinking and being the daughter of Keith Allen. She eventually used her father's connections to get signed to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 2002. When the executive who had signed her left, the label lost interest and she left without releasing the

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

many of which were written by her father. She then studied horticulture to become a florist, but changed her mind and returned to music. Allen began writing songs, while her manager introduced her to production duo Future Cut in 2004. They worked in a small studio in the basement of an office building. In 2005, Allen was signed to Regal Recordings; they gave her £25,000 to produce an album, though they were unable to provide much support for it due to their preoccupation with other releases such as '' X&Y'' (

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

) and ''

Demon Days ''Demon Days'' is the second studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 11 May 2005 in Japan, 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone, and 24 May 2005 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album continu ...

'' (

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

). Allen then created an account on Myspace and began posting demos that she recorded in November 2005. The demos attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

vinyl singles of " LDN" were rush-released, reselling for as much as £40. Allen also produced two mixtapes – ''My First Mixtape'' and ''My Second Mixtape'' – to promote her work. As she accumulated tens of thousands of Myspace friends, ''The Observer Music Monthly'' (OMM), a magazine published in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', took interest in March 2006. Few people outside of her label's A&R department knew who she was, so the label was slow in responding to publications wanting to report about her. She received her first major mainstream coverage, appearing in the magazine's cover story two months later.

2006–2008: ''Alright, Still''

The success convinced her label to allow her more creative control over the album and to use some of the songs that she had written instead of working with mainstream producers. Allen decided to work with producers Greg Kurstin and

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

, finishing the rest of the album in two weeks. Allen's debut album, '' Alright, Still'', was released in July 2006. Most of the tracks had been previewed on her Myspace page, including the singles "

", " LDN", "Knock 'Em Out", and "Alfie". In September 2006, "Smile" was made available on the US version of iTunes Store. By December 2006, her music video for ''Smile'' had been played on various music channels as well as the song getting a little airplay. ''Entertainment Weekly'' named ''Alright, Still'' as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 despite the fact that it had not yet been released in the US. Allen also did several promotional ads for MTV as their ''Discover and Download'' artist of the month for January 2007. The album was released in the US on 30 January 2007, landing at 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200. By January 2009, the album had sold 960,000 copies in the UK and 520,000 copies in the US. In 2007, she played the newly launched Park Stage at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, replacing MIA who had cancelled. During the festival she reunited two members of

The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

, an act that guitarist Lynval Golding claimed played a "massive part" in the group's 2009 reunion. She also sang the vocals on the top ten single, " Oh My God", a cover of the

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

song by

. On 1 July 2007, Allen appeared at the

Concert for Diana Concert for Diana was a benefit concert held at the then newly built Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday. 31 August that year brought the 10t ...

held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, London, to celebrate the life of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

. She sang "LDN" and "Smile". Allen's single "Littlest Things" from her album produced by Ronson helped earn him a "Producer of the Year – Non Classical" 2008 Grammy Award. She also provided background vocals for a couple of songs on the Kaiser Chiefs' third album in 2008. Allen won a 2008 BMI songwriting award for "Smile". Allen later performed at a benefit concert for War Child, an international child protection agency that works with children affected by war. Backed by Keane, Allen sang "Smile" and " Everybody's Changing".

2008–2011: ''It's Not Me, It's You'' and musical hiatus

After the release of her first album, her parent record company, EMI, was taken over by Terra Firma. She also changed her management company from Empire Artist Management to Twenty-First Artists, although her core team remained in place. At the urging of her record company, Allen tried unsuccessfully to create the album with several writers and producers. Allen eventually returned to Greg Kurstin who had written three songs for ''Alright, Still.'' The album was produced by Kurstin at Eagle Rock Studios in Los Angeles. Before returning to Kus, Allen co-wrote the songs for the album with Kurstin who played piano on it. This is a change from her earlier work in which she wrote lyrics for finished tracks. Allen released a statement saying "We decided to try and make bigger sounding, more ethereal songs, real songs ... I wanted to work with one person from start to finish to make it one body of work. I wanted it to feel like it had some sort of integrity. I think I've grown up a bit as a person and I hope it reflects that." She posted two new song demos on her Myspace page and planned to release a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

to give her fans an idea of what the new direction was. Allen cancelled a scheduled appearance at the 2008

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

, telling festival promoter John Giddings the reason for the cancellation was that her album was behind schedule. Giddings said that the reason given was not acceptable and possibly a lie. Giddings decided not to sue her. Photos of her drunk and topless in the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

were also widely covered in the press. Her appearance at the 2008 ''Glamour'' Awards also generated criticism, as she showed up intoxicated wearing a dress covered in decapitated

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

figures, and had an on-stage, expletive-laced exchange with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. On 29 June 2008, Allen performed at the

alongside producer Mark Ronson. An emotional Allen dedicated her performance of " Littlest Things" to her grandmother who died the night before. ''

'' was first scheduled for an early 2008 release, but her miscarriage and creative issues delayed the release date to the autumn. During autumn 2008, EMI was undergoing restructuring. Due to this environment, a decision was made to move the album's eventual release date. An online game, ''Escape the Fear,'' was created by Matmi as part of the

viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way th ...

campaign targeted at people unaware of Allen or the album. Since its release, "The Game" has topped the worldwide viral charts three times, including the week of Christmas—a highly contested time of the year. By 18 February 2009, "The Game" had been played over two million times. The singer and

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

guitarist Mick Jones performed the Clash's song " Straight to Hell" on an album for the charity Heroes. ''It's Not Me, It's You'' was released in February 2009. It debuted at the number 1 position in the UK, Canada, and Australia and the number 5 position in the United States. The album has been certified platinum in the United Kingdom. The release of the album was a factor in EMI more than trebling their earnings. The first single from the album, "The Fear", was number 1 for the first four weeks in the UK after its release. The second single released from the album, "

", reached the number 9 position. She began her It's Not Me, It's You World Tour in March, touring throughout the next two years until September 2010. Her work on this album with Greg Kurstin earned her the ''Songwriters of the Year'' at the 2010

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

. In addition, she won with Kurstin ''Best Song Musically and Lyrically'' and ''Most Performed Work'' for "The Fear". Allen appeared overwhelmed by this recognition from what she considered "real awards". In October 2010, Allen won her second BMI Pop Song Award by the United States music licensing organisation

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organisation, performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BM ...

for extensive United States radio airplay of her song, "The Fear". Allen and Jamie Hince, guitarist for

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock music, rock duo formed by American singer Alison Mosshart, Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie Hince, Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino Records. Their fi ...

, raised £48,350 for the children's charity The Hoping Foundation. The pair sang " Dream a Little Dream of Me" at a

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

auction fundraiser. In September 2009, Allen announced that she was considering a career in acting, that she would not renew her record contract, and that she had "no plans" to make another record. In September 2010, she gave her last performance for two and a half years, supporting

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. She featured on the UK top five single, "

Just Be Good to Green #REDIRECT Just Be Good to Green {{R from other capitalisation Redirects from other capitalisations ...

" by Professor Green in June 2010. The following month, she started writing songs for the musical version of ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' which was scheduled to open in London's West End in 2012. Also in 2011,

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

used a verse from Allen's " Who'd Have Known" as the chorus to the song "5 O'Clock", which became the second single from his album ''Revolver''. The song, which also features

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

, was released in September 2011, and reached number ten on the '' ''Billboard'' Hot 100'' chart, making it Allen's first Top 10 single in the United States.

2012–2018: ''Sheezus'' and ''No Shame''

In June 2012, Allen confirmed she was in the studio working with Greg Kurstin on new music. She later changed her professional name from Lily Allen to Lily Rose Cooper and appeared on the track " True Love" on

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

's sixth studio album, '' The Truth About Love'', released in September 2012. In February 2013, she performed live at a Paris fashion show produced by

in what she called her "mumback", and foreshadowed the release of a new album "inspired by her experiences of motherhood" by the end of 2013. In August 2013, she changed her professional name back to Lily Allen and tweeted new music would be arriving "soon". In November 2013, Allen recorded a cover of Keane's " Somewhere Only We Know" for the John Lewis Christmas advert with a portion of the song's sales earnings donated to

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

's Philippine Typhoon Appeal campaign. Released as a download single, it reached number one in the UK singles chart on 24 November. On 12 November 2013, Allen premiered the video for her new song " Hard Out Here" on her official website. The song was released as a download the following week and entered the UK singles chart at number nine, giving Allen two simultaneous top ten hit singles. Allen's November 2013 video for " Hard out Here" was accused of being racist for its use of mostly black dancers in an allegedly "disapproving" manner. Allen responded that ethnicity was not a factor in hiring the dancers, and the video was a lighthearted satirical look at objectification of women in modern pop music. In November 2016, Allen apologised for the video in an interview with Annie Mac, stating "I definitely wanted to make a feminist statement. But I was guilty of assuming that there was a one-size-fits-all where feminism is concerned." In December 2013, Allen was announced as one of the newest signees at Warner Bros. Records due to

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

acquiring

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

from

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

in May 2013. On 13 January 2014, the song " Air Balloon" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 and was released on 2 March 2014, as the second single from Allen's third studio album '' Sheezus''. The album was released on 5 May 2014. Allen performed at the Glastonbury Festival 2014. Following the release of ''Sheezus'' (2014), Allen had an "

identity crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...

". She did not enjoy the music she was being asked to create and believed people within the music industry were controlling her musical choices. Allen mentioned on the podcast ''News Roast'' that she is working on a new album, which will mainly deal with herself, her relationship with her children, the breakdown of her marriage, substance abuse, etc. Allen has been working with

. In late 2017, Allen uploaded numerous songs online in preparation for the album, including the track titled "Family Man". When conceiving the album Allen wanted to work through her problems via music. Allen decided to do this because she felt that people are often led "by outside forces" when they are trying to express themselves – something she wanted to explore when creating '' No Shame''. Later that year, in December, a song called "Trigger Bang" was leaked and featured rapper Giggs. On 24 January 2018 Allen announced her new album would be called ''No Shame''. The album was released 8 June 2018. ''No Shame'' was nominated for a Mercury Prize, with the album being one of 12 to be shortlisted for the award. An

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

album, ''No Shame'' takes influence from

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, and features confessional lyrics that discuss the breakdown of Allen's marriage and friendships, maternal guilt,

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

, along with social and political issues. Upon release ''No Shame'' was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the album's mature lyrical content and themes, Allen's artistic evolution, the composition and production. The album peaked at number eight on the

, it reached the top 40 on the New Zealand and Irish charts and became Allen's fourth consecutive top 10 album in Australia. To promote the album, Allen embarked on her worldwide No Shame Tour.

2019–present: Concept album and second hiatus

In April 2019, Allen revealed on

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio that she was working on her next record which would be a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. Allen later said in March 2020 that her new album only features "odd mentions" of her past addictions. She said: "This album I've been doing, I've been writing for just over a year, but I feel like I've moved on mentally so far from that time." In the Glastonbury Festival 2022, Allen appeared during Olivia Rodrigo's set to perform " Fuck You", as a protest against the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that abortion was not protected by the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described it as a "thrilling, furious" moment. Allen later said that she was unsure that she could perform "on a stage like that sober again", being nearly three years sober. In late 2022, Allen booked five weeks in a music studio, but she said it felt "contrived" and that the music was not ready to be released. In 2024 she said she had recorded around 50 songs for her next music project, which she was still working on.

Artistry

Allen's early released songs saw her singing against retro productions. Her songs also featured other elements, such as the ska influence on second single, "LDN". She was also noted for her liberal use of crude words in her lyrics. Allen has said she cringes now when listening to tracks from ''Alright, Still'', as it reminds her that she was a "sort of over-excitable teenager who desperately wanted attention" when she wrote it. Wanting to move on from the retro sound that many other artists had adapted since her debut, Allen ventured in a new direction sonically and lyrically in her second studio album, ''

''. " The Fear", the first single from the album, is an electro-pop track denouncing consumerism. Her new musical direction and willingness to write lyrics that tackled less-common subjects were lauded by some critics. Allen's song " Who'd Have Known" was sampled in

's single " 5 O'Clock" because of her accent.

, a close friend of Allen's father Keith, played mixtapes of Brazilian music and Jamaican

and ska when she was young. Allen stated that she had "always been into very black music" such as ska, reggae, and

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

. Since she did not know how to rap, she chose to use reggae as a point of reference when making ''Alright, Still''. The album's music blends ska and reggae with pop melodies. Allen's melodies are influenced by the jazz improvisation techniques of American singers Blossom Dearie and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

. The album's beats are influenced by various genres such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and grime. Singers

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

, Tegan and Sara,

Bridgit Mendler Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992) is an American entrepreneur and former actress and singer-songwriter. She first became known as a Child actor, child actress and continued acting into adulthood, which overlapped with a musical car ...

, Jullie and Victoria Justice have each been influenced by Allen.

Acting career

Stage

In June 2021, Allen announced that she would be playing the lead role of Jenny in the West End play '' 2:22 A Ghost Story'' at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

from 3 August 2021. The play, directed by Matthew Dunster and written by Danny Robins saw Allen debut in August 2021. Reviewing the play for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Annabel Nugent wrote, "Allen is superb as Jenny. Exhaustion thrums a fraction below her palpable fear – just visible enough in her performance to have you questioning Jenny's version of events". In 2022, she received a

nomination for Best Actress, and also won a

WhatsOnStage Award The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in UK theatre, with categories covering both regional p ...

for her performance. In 2023, Allen starred as Katurian in a revival of

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

's play '' The Pillowman'' at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

, London opposite

Steve Pemberton Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC's ''The League of Gentlemen'' with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also ...

, Paul Kaye and Matthew Tennyson. It was directed by Matthew Dunster who also directed ''2:22 A Ghost Story''. In July 2025, Allen will star as Hedda Gabler in '' Hedda'', a new re-imagining of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's play adapted and directed by Matthew Dunster for the Ustinov Studio,

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

Screen

Allen made an appearance as a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

in the 1998 film '' Elizabeth'', which was co-produced by her mother. She later appeared as

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

in '' How to Build a Girl'' in July 2019, alongside her brother Alfie. In April 2023, Allen starred alongside Freema Agyeman in Sharon Horgan's comedy-drama '' Dreamland'' for

Sky Max Sky Max is a British pay television channel and on-demand service which launched on 1 September 2021. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a subsidiary of Comcast. The service broadcasts a variety of drama, comedy-drama, and unscripted serie ...

. It was developed from a short starring Morgana Robinson that aired in 2017.

Other ventures

Allen signed a one-series contract to present her own BBC Three TV show titled ''

'' based on the social networking phenomenon that helped to launch her music career. Guests included Mark Ronson, Joanna Page, James Corden, Lauren Laverne,

Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter and record producer who first became known in the 1990s as one half of the Pop music, pop duo Moloko alongside the English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of M ...

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

, and

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'' (1999), with other notable roles Billy the Limpet in ''Mean Machine (film), Mean Machine'' (2001) and as Tommy J ...

. The show attracted only 2 per cent of the total multi-channel audience despite a high-profile nationwide marketing campaign. Citing Allen's rapid development as a TV host and her popularity among its

target audience The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of cons ...

BBC Three announced it was renewing ''Lily Allen and Friends'' for a second season. BBC Three controller Danny Cohen later said that the show would not air in the spring of 2009 as originally scheduled because of music commitments. In 2009, Allen was named the face of the National Portrait Gallery as part of the gallery's marketing campaign. The picture was photographed by

Nadav Kander Nadav Kander HonFRPS (; born 1961) is a London-based photographer, artist and director, known for his portraiture and landscapes. Kander has produced a number of books and had his work exhibited widely. He received an Honorary Fellowship from ...

emblazoned with the words, "vocalist, lyricist, florist". Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer for

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

, personally hired and photographed Allen for a campaign to promote a luxury line of handbags due to launch in September 2009. Allen and her sister opened their own clothing store, titled "Lucy in Disguise", on 15 September 2010. Allen did not entirely abandon music during this period, in which she focused on starting her family. In January 2011, she launched her own record label, In the Name Of, with financial backing from

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The label released the debut album of

Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, ''Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. He won the 2013 BRIT Awards, BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio ...

, but closed in 2014. In May 2016, Allen announced the launch of her second record label, Bank Holiday Records. British-American R&B singer Celeste was one of the first artists to sign to the label. On 20 September 2018, Allen published the memoir '' My Thoughts Exactly'' with Blink Publishing. It was nominated for the FutureBook Campaign of the Year. The book is one of seven chosen by the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' as the "best celebrity memoirs of 2018". It is one of nine books listed under the "Showbusiness" category of ''

''s best books of 2018. In October 2020, Allen worked with the sex tech company Womanizer to create her own

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The ...

, Liberty, a clitoral pump. She is the chief liberation officer at Womanizer and is heading up their #IMasturbate campaign which encourages women to embrace their sexuality. Liberty was positively reviewed in ''The Independent'' and ''

Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...

''. The product sucks and massages the clitoris without making direct contact, using sonic waves to induce sexual pleasure. It is waterproof and has six different intensity levels. Allen had previously recommended Womanizer's products in her autobiography ''My Thoughts Exactly''. In 2024, Allen began hosting a twice-weekly

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

podcast, ''Miss Me?'', with her friend Miquita Oliver. That year, she opened an OnlyFans account to sell pictures and videos of her feet. Allen had discovered that photos of her feet were popular on WikiFeet, a foot fetish website, and her nail technician suggested she could make money selling photos. Allen said that, as of 2024, she earned more from OnlyFans than she did from her approximately 8 million listeners on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Accolades

Allen has received 31 awards and 73 nominations for her music, including nominations for nine BRIT Awards (one won), one

, three

(three won), one

and twelve

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...

(three won). For her acting, she has been nominated for a

Personal life

In November 2010, she took legal action against

Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at 9 Derry Street in ...

, the parent company of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'', after the newspaper published photographs of her home. Allen cited

invasion of privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. Since the global ...

and

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

. Allen is a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

fan and has appeared on '' Test Match Special''.

Relationships and children

Allen began dating musician Ed Simons of the

Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

in September 2007, and in December, Allen announced that she and Simons were expecting a child. Allen announced that she suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

in January 2008. However, in her 2018 memoir ''My Thoughts Exactly'', Allen writes that she had had an abortion, but "fake the miscarriage due to fears over how tabloids would report the story. After five months of dating, Allen's relationship with Simons ended. Allen has stated that she spent three weeks in a

psychiatric clinic A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

due to depression. In July 2009, Allen began dating Sam Cooper, a builder and decorator. On 5 August 2010, Allen announced that she was pregnant with her and Cooper's first child, later confirmed to be a boy, due early in 2011. She experienced complications early in the pregnancy, including "about a week and a half of really heavy bleeding". In late October, six months into her pregnancy, Allen contracted a

viral infection A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells. Examples include the common cold, gastroenteritis, COVID-19, t ...

, which caused her to suffer a

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetus, fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without vital signs, signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt (emotio ...

, announced on 1 November. On 6 November, Allen was admitted to a hospital, where she responded well to treatment for

septicaemia Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

. In February 2017, Allen explained that she was diagnosed with

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

after the stillbirth. Allen and Cooper became engaged in December 2010 while on holiday in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. They wed on 11 June 2011 at St. James Church in Cranham, Gloucestershire, England. The designer of Allen's wedding dress confirmed she was several months pregnant on the wedding day. Allen gave birth to her daughter, Ethel Mary, in 2011. She gave birth to her second daughter, Marnie Rose, in 2013, following which she experienced postnatal depression. On 2 September 2018, Allen posted on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that she had had sex with female escorts in 2014 whilst married to Cooper, and whilst on tour promoting ''Sheezus''. Allen had included details of these events in her book ''My Thoughts Exactly'', and said that she made the Instagram post as the ''

'' were planning to publish an article about it the following day. Saying that "I'm not proud, but I'm not ashamed", Allen has linked the events to her postnatal depression and the breakdown of her marriage. Allen has criticised the press for portraying the events as a "lesbian prostitute sex romp". In ''My Thoughts Exactly'', Allen writes that she had an affair with

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

when he was married to

Nicole Appleton Nicole Marie Appleton (born 7 December 1974) is a Canadian singer and television presenter. She is a member of the British girl group All Saints and the pop duo Appleton with her elder sister Natalie Appleton. Early life Appleton was born i ...

. In mid-2015, Allen and Cooper broke up, after she told him about her acts of infidelity. In June 2018, it was publicly announced that a "friendly divorce" from Cooper had been finalised and they would share custody of their children. Allen began a relationship with actor David Harbour in 2019. They made their red carpet debut during the 26th annual

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

. A day after they obtained their marriage certificate, they got married on 7 September 2020 in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, in a wedding that was officiated by an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the wor ...

. The couple share a home in Brooklyn. Allen said in 2024 that she had prioritised her children over her career as a contrast to the relative absence of her parents. In December 2024, newspapers alleged that Allen and Harbour had separated, after Allen's dating profile was reportedly spotted on the exclusive dating app Raya—but these allegations have not yet been confirmed by the couple.

Mental health

Allen has been outspoken regarding her

body image Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psycho ...

throughout her career. In an interview for ''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'', an ITV breakfast program, Allen mentions that she "used to sleep for days so that hedidn't eat" and that her relationship with her body was "not great" in her 20s. When asked about being influenced by the pressure of the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

to "look a certain way in order to sell records", she replied that due to her defiant way of dealing with these unrealistic expectations, she was often criticised far more than the average

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. In January 2021, Allen gave an interview to discuss how she became addicted to the prescription drug

Adderall Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio between dextroamphetamine and l ...

in 2014 to lose weight before supporting Miley Cyrus on her Bangerz tour. She began a journey of recovery soon after when she was tempted to try

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

. In February 2017, Allen said that she had been diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. In 2023, she was diagnosed with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

(ADHD).

Politics and activism

Allen considers herself a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. Although she is a staunch supporter of the Labour Party, she was credited with helping inspire a parliamentary rebellion against former Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

when she wrote to all members of parliament asking them to back an amendment to an energy bill, requiring a reward scheme for home production of renewable energy. She later confirmed her support for the Labour Party and then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown in particular. After the British government's plans to implement a three-strikes policy for

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

copyright infringement, Allen came out in support for disconnecting repeat offenders. Creating a blog titled "It's Not Alright" against file sharing, it subsequently came to light that she had copied text directly from the

Techdirt Techdirt is an American Internet blog that reports on technology's legal challenges and related business and economic policy issues, in context of the digital revolution. It focuses on intellectual property, patent, information privacy and copyr ...

website of an interview with

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, without attribution. This led to accusations that Allen had infringed on other artists' copyrights by creating

mix tapes In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

early in her career, that she then made available via her website. A group of supporters of filesharing, operating under the name "

Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

", launched a

denial of service In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host co ...

attack dubbed Operation Payback that shut down Allen's website and targeted other critics. On 1 October 2009, Allen and several other musicians released the world's first digital musical petition aimed at pressuring world leaders attending the December 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen. The petition included a cover of the song " Beds Are Burning" by

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

. During the London assembly and mayoral elections in April 2016, Allen announced that she would be giving "half her vote to the Women's Equality Party" – by voting for them on the London-wide Assembly list but voting Labour elsewhere. In June 2016, Allen published several tweets and attended protests in support of Labour Party leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

, after mass resignations from his cabinet and a leadership challenge. On 15 June 2017, Allen appeared on ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

'' to discuss the

Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...

. She claimed that "the death count has been downplayed by the mainstream media", disputing the then official figure of 17 fatalities by saying, "I'm hearing from people that the figure is much closer to 150". The official death toll is now 72. In November 2019, Allen declared during the 2019 UK general election campaign that the Labour Party manifesto was "the best I've ever seen" and shared a picture of her polling card with the caption: "Tories OUT."

Stalking ordeal

Allen has spoken publicly about her seven-year stalking ordeal and the effect it had on her life. Her stalker, Alex Gray, first made contact with Allen in 2008 when he sent her a series of tweets, claiming he had written her song " The Fear", under the

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

handle "@lilyallenisRIP". He then sent Allen threatening letters to her home, her clothes shop, her record label and her manager's office. In October 2015, he sent an email to his mother stating he was planning on murdering a celebrity and went on to spend nights in Allen's back garden, broke into her bedroom whilst she was sleeping, and ultimately forced Allen to move. Allen has strongly criticised the Metropolitan Police for their inaction in the case, which included refusals to show Allen a picture of her stalker, lending her a panic alarm before demanding it back and refusal to believe stalking incidents were linked. In April 2016, Gray was convicted of burglary and harassment. At Harrow Crown Court on 10 June, Judge Martyn Barklem sentenced him to an indefinite hospital order. Gray was also made the subject of a restraining order and banned from entering the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

or the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

. Allen said that she isolated herself following the stalking incidents, believing that "nobody was taking me seriously because the police weren't taking me seriously". This coincided with her divorce, in which she says "everyone sided with ooper, and her album ''No Shame'' became the outlet for her issues.

Alleged assault and disparaging remarks

Due to her outspokenness, Allen was the subject of many controversies early in her career. Disparaging remarks about musicians such as Luke Pritchard of

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

, Cheryl,

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2002, Roberts was selected as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: Th ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

have all garnered minor press attention. She later said that making fun of other pop stars was a result of a lack of confidence, saying "I felt like 'Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty.'" On 28 June 2007, Allen was arrested in London for allegedly assaulting photographer Kevin Rush while she was leaving a nightclub in London's West End. Prior to this, she had expressed discomfort with attention from the paparazzi on her

blog. By February 2009, she had stopped addressing controversies about herself on her blog because she found it "boring when people just pick stuff up and write about it. People get hurt, people get upset." In May 2009, French football magazine ''So Foot'' published a fake interview in which Allen was quoted as making derogatory remarks about

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...

and Ashley and

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

. Some of the material was reprinted in the British tabloid ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

''. Both publications later apologised and paid damages to Allen. In October 2009, after having created her career on Myspace, Allen deleted her social media accounts and announced "I am now a

neo-luddite Neo-Luddism or new Luddism is a philosophy opposing many forms of modern technology. The term Luddite is generally used as a pejorative applied to people showing technophobic leanings. The name is based on the historical legacy of the English ...

. Goodbye". She re-activated her accounts four months later in February 2010.

Discography

* '' Alright, Still'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Sheezus'' (2014) * '' No Shame'' (2018)

Tours

;Headlining * Still, Alright? (2007–08) * It's Not Me, It's You World Tour (2009–10) * Sheezus Tour (2014–15) * No Shame Tour (2018–19) ;As solo supporting act *

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

' Bangerz Tour (North America, 2014)

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Lily 1985 births 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English memoirists 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English singer-songwriters BBC people Brit Award winners English contemporary R&B singers English socialists Capitol Records artists Electropop musicians English environmentalists English women singer-songwriters English film actresses English people of Welsh descent English women pop singers English television personalities English television talk show hosts Ivor Novello Award winners Labour Party (UK) people Living people NME Awards winners Parlophone artists Actors educated at Bedales School People educated at Hill House School Actresses from London People from Hammersmith Actors from the London Borough of Islington Military personnel from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Military personnel from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district) People with bipolar disorder Singers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Singers from the London Borough of Islington Women's Equality Party people BT Digital Music Awards winners English women memoirists People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder English people with disabilities L Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham OnlyFans creators