Paloma Faith

Paloma Faith (born Paloma Faith Blomfield, 21.7.1985)

Paloma Faith is a British singer, songwriter, dancer and actress.

Paloma Faith: Childhood

Paloma Faith was born in the Hackney area of London. Her father is Spanish, whilst her mother is English. Paloma's parents divorced when she was just four years old and she was raised by her mother in Stoke Newington, London.

After leaving school, Paloma studied for a BA in Contemporary Dance at Leeds University. Whilst she lived in Leeds, she had a part-time job at a bar in the city centre, Milo, whose previous staff roster also includes Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs and the actor Sam Riley. She also had a part-time job at Agent Provocateur, selling lingerie.

When she left Leeds, Paloma Faith studied for an MA in Drama, at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

Paloma Faith: Career in the Limelight

When Paloma Faith first started making music, she found herself mimicking the blues singers that she admires, such as Billie Holiday, Etta James, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. She soon found her own voice though and turned down the opportunity to be a backing singer in Amy Winehouse's live band.

One of the first steps on Paloma's path to recognition was the track 'It's Christmas (And I Hate You)' that she recorded as a duet with Josh Weller. Her debut solo single, however, was 'Stone Cold Sober', which went to number 17 on the UK singles chart in June 2009. That month, she played live and was interviewed on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show.

In September 2009, Paloma Faith's debut album was released, entitled Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? Faith had written the album in Sweden and America, as well as the UK and recorded it in London. The album reached number nine in the UK albums chart and her performance on Later. With Jools Holland earned her another comparison to Etta James, from the show's host.

In September 2009, Paloma Faith was a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. The actor James Cordon was that week's host. Paloma was on Phil Jupitus' team but took quite a shine to the other team captain, Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh.

Later that year, Paloma Faith performed her song 'New York' on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. To end 2009, she was a guest on Jools Holland's New Year's Eve Hootenanny show, along with Dizzee Rascal, Shingai Shoniwa of Noisettes, Florence and the Machine, Paolo Nutini and Boy George.

Paloma Faith is also an actress and had a major role in the 2007 film St. Trinian's. The film also starred the members of Girls Aloud, as well as Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Russell Brand and Rupert Everett.

In 2009, she appeared in the Terry Gilliam-directed The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The film received sympathetic reviews, despite its re-constructed ending, which had to be re-thought after the lead actor, Heath Ledger, died before the end of filming. The remainder of his character's scenes were filmed by Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell.

Paloma Faith also appears in the music video for 'The Beat My Heart Skipped', by Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip.