Tulisa Contostavlos's Biography

Tulisa was born Tula Paulinea Contostavlos on 13 July 1988 in Camden Town, North London.

She comes from a musical family. Her mother is Anne Byrne, who was a singer in the 1980s band Jeep, and her father Steve (Plato) Contostavlos was a keyboardist with Mungo Jerry.

Tulisa Contostavlos's parents separated when she was nine-years-old. Her mother had a history of mental illness, and Tulisa later made a documentary for BBC Three entitled Tulisa: My Mum and Me.

Tulisa Contostavlos joined her cousin Dappy and his friend Fazer in the hip hop group N-Dubz.

In 2007, N-Dubz were signed by Polydor, however they soon started self-funding their releases, before eventually signing with All Around The World.

As well as their own single N-Dubz were guests on Tinchy Stryder's song Number 1.

They also featured in a couple of documentary series, broadcast by Channel 4, of Being N-Dubz.

Tulisa Contostavlos was a judge on X Factor from 2011 to 2012.

In May 2012, Tulisa gained her first solo number one with the single Young.

In 2013, she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs, however, a judge threw out the case because he believed prosecution witness Nesd of the World journalist Mazher Mahmood (known as the Fake Sheikh) had lied.

In 2016, Mahmood was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

In April 2016, Tulisa Contostavlos pleaded guilty to drink driving after she crashed her Ferrari in Southgate, north London. She was disqualified from driving for 15 months.

In September 2016, she released her first single in two years, a re-working of Sweet Like Chocolate.

In 2018, Tulisa won a legal challenge to be named as a songwriter on the hit Scream and Shout.

In 2019, she released the single Daddy.

In March 2020, Tulisa revealed she has Bell's palsy, which temporarily affects the ability to control the facial muscles.