Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter, and political activist from Cardiff, Wales. She was born on 21st February 1986 (age 35 years), Llandaff, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Her birth name is Charlotte Maria Reed is the daughter of Maria (née Cooper) and Stephen Reed, a computer engineer. Stephen walked out on Charlotte and her mother when she was two, and she was subsequently raised by her mother.
She was brought up as a Roman Catholic. In 1992, Maria married her second husband, James Church, who adopted Charlotte in 1999. Church has four siblings; two younger half-brothers through her biological father, Luke, and Alexander, and two older step-siblings from her adoptive father’s previous marriage, Elisha and Andrew. Her musical break came at age 11 when she sang Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu” over the telephone on the television show This Morning in 1997, followed by her performance on ITV’s Big, Big Talent Show in 1997.
Church is a soprano. She left school at age 16.
CAREER
As a classical music singer, Church sang in English, Welsh, Latin, Italian and French. She was then introduced to the Cardiff impresario Jonathan Shalit, who became her manager and negotiated a contract with Sony Music. Her first album, Voice of an Angel, was a collection of Arias, sacred songs, and traditional pieces that sold millions worldwide and made her the youngest artist with a No. 1 album on the British classical crossover charts.
In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, an album of Christmas carols that included Church’s first foray into a more non-classical, pop-influenced style. In the title track Dream a Dream, she borrowed the melody from Fauré’s Pavane and featuring child American country singer Billy Gilman.
In 2002, at 16, she released a ‘best of’ album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Dame Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, marking the end of her classical music career. Her next album, Tissues and Issues, would be a pop release. In April 2006, Church performed three concerts in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff, in venues holding between 2,000 and 3,000 people. The dates at London and Cardiff were sold out. Supported by the Irish band the New Druids, Church performed a mix of tracks from her debut pop album and a number of pop covers including Prince’s “Kiss” and Gloria Estefan’s “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”.
In November 2006, it was announced that she and Sony had parted ways. According to her publicist, this was a mutual decision reached after a series of meetings throughout the year, which were held since her six-album contract had ended. There was speculation that Church had decided to take a break from her singing career to focus on her television show. Others suggested that her pop releases’ chart performance contributed to the decision. Yet another factor was her pregnancy with her daughter, Ruby Megan Henson.
In 2007, Church became Patron of the charity The Topsy Foundation UK, helping to raise awareness and funds for its work to support rural communities in South Africa, empowering people infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, through medical care, social support, and skills development.
TV AND MOVIE SHOWS APPEARANCES
In January 2010 for Hospital 24/7, Church made an appearance on the program finale, where she visits the Children’s Hospital for Wales to launch the Noah’s Ark Appeals campaign to fund the equipment in the new Critical Care Unit, which will help children needing high dependency or critical & intensive care.
In 2014 Church performed as Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard in a BBC adaptation of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. In 2018, Church appeared in the BBC One documentary Charlotte Church: Inside My Brain, in which she explores the subject of mental health and the various kinds of research being done in the field.
WRITING CAREER
Church released an autobiography titled Voice of an Angel (My Life So Far) in October 2000, at 14. She released a second autobiography titled Keep Smiling in late 2007. In 2019, Church wrote numerous opinion pieces for The Guardian.
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
In September 2015, she endorsed Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign in the Labour Party Leadership election but, this came to shift everyone’s take on the matter as by December 2015 she was calling for Jeremy to be replaced by a “fresh face” that was more electable. In 2016, Church along with numerous other celebrities, toured the UK to support Corbyn’s bid to become Prime Minister, and in March 2016, she performed at a socialist fundraising event in Edinburgh for Corbyn.
On May 2, 2016, she declared her support for the Welsh Nationalist party, Plaid Cymru in the National Assembly of Wales Election. In January 2017, she took part in a protest in Cardiff about Donald Trump’s inauguration as the US President.
PERSONAL LIFE
Church gave birth to a daughter, Ruby Megan Henson, on 20 September 2007, and to a son, Dexter Lloyd Henson, on 11 January 2009. Church and her fiance Henson separated in 2010, six weeks after becoming engaged.
Church had dated musician Johnny Powell since 2010 and married him on 4 October 2017. They had a daughter, the name of the child is still unknown, in August 2020. They have been no record of Church’s third child to the general public as she has recently shown the world her baby’s pictures.
NETWORTH
Year | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Classical BRIT Awards | Best Female Artist | Nominated |
Classical BRIT Awards | British Artist of the Year | Won | |
Hollywood Reporters Young Star Awards | Best Young Recording Artist Or Musical Group | Won | |
Institute of Public Relations in Wales | Millennium Communicator of the Year | Won | |
2002 | Rear of the Year | N/A | Won |
2005 | GQ Awards | Woman of the Year | Won |
2006 | Brit Awards | Best British Female | Nominated |
Loaded Magazine LAFTA Awards | Funniest T.V. Personality | Won | |
Glamour Awards | Editors Choice Award | Won | |
Glamour Awards | Solo Artist of the Year | Won | |
British Comedy Awards | Best Female Newcomer | Won | |
2007 | Glamour Awards | Readers Favourite TV Personality | Won |
2008 | Rose d’Or Awards | Best Entertainer | Nominated |