Jesy Nelson Biography

Jesy was raised along with three siblings. She is the second youngest, and has two elder siblings - her sister Jade and brother Jonathan. She also has a younger brother, Joseph.

She received regular education and attended Jo Richardson Community School. She went on to graduate from Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College and was one of the brightest students of her class. She also enrolled in the famous Performing Arts Institute – Sylvia Young and Yvonne Rhodes Theatre Schools.

Jesy auditioned as a soloist for the eight season of the UK adaptation of The X Factor in 2011. However, she couldn’t clear the “bootcamp” round, but was assured a second chance with the group Faux Pas.

Though all four members of Faux Pas couldn’t make it to the next round. She managed to seal her spot on the show in a newly formed group called Rhythmix, consisting of two members from Faux Pas and two from Orion.

The group became famous instantly, with judges pointing out about the potential they possessed and calling them the future band. But during their run on the show, they changed their group name owing to a clash with a children’s music charity group. That is how the name Little Mix came about.

Her soulful voice in If I Were A Boy on the show, propelled the judges to deem the group “dynamic” with variation in voice textures and ranges. The group had it all to win the reality show and so they did.

Little Mix became the first ever group to win The X Factor. They performed a cover of Damien Rice’s ‘Cannonball’ and within days, Jesy’s first official cover single topped the UK Singles Chart.

Her third album’s first single Black Magic stayed at the number one spot in the UK singles chart for more than three weeks. This was also the group’s first song to rank on the US Billboard Hot 100.

On her group’s The Get Weird Tour she grossed millions, and over 300 K tickets were sold out in UK alone. For the tour she was booked for 60 dates in Europe, Asia and Australia.

In 2014, her group won the Band of the Year Glamour Award, and at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, she won an award in the category of Best Three New Artists and New Artist of the Year.

In 2015, she brought home the BBC Radio Teen’s Embrace Your Uniqueness Award. At the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women’s Awards, the girl-band won the award for The Ultimate Girl Group.

She also won the Glamour Award for Artist of the Year in 2016 and was nominated in three categories - Best Group, Single of the Year and Video of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards.

Before she gained fame as a member of Little Mix and the winner of The X Factor show, she worked as a bartender at a local bar in Essex.

She dated Jordon Banjo, winner of Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Later she broke off with him and dated Rixon’s lead singer, Jake Roche for a year before getting engaged to him in 2015, but the couple eventually broke up in November, 2016. From 2017 until late 2018, she dated Harry James. For about year and a half she dated reality star Chris Hughes. They parted ways in April 2020.

Jesy Nelson is known for her love of tattoos, with many intricate designs covering her arms and legs.