Who is Louis Tomlinson?
Louis William Tomlinson is a musician, singer and songwriter from Doncaster. He rose to fame as a member of boyband One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne. Born Louis Troy Austin, the X Factor star was born on 24 December 1991 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire to Johanna and Troy Austin. Louis' parents split up when he was young, leading the star to take his stepfather Mark Tomlinson's surname.
Louis grew up with younger sisters, one on his father's side, Georgia, and four on his mother's, Charlotte, Félicité and twins Daisy and Phoebe.
Louise Tomlinson's rise to fame
When he was 11, Louis appeared as an extra on ITV drama Fat Friends, alongside his newborn twin sisters. Bitten by the acting bug, he then started to attend acting school in his spare time and went on to secure small parts in BBC's Waterloo Road and 2006 TV movie If I Had You. He also took the lead role of Danny Zucco in a high-school production of Grease, which he says gave him the confidence to audition for the The X Factor in 2010.
Louis – who has had a number of part-time jobs, including working as a hospitality waiter at Doncaster Rovers Football Club – impressed the judges on The X Factor with his rendition of Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's. Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh all decided to send him through the next round. He then sang Adele's hit Make You Feel My Love but failed to progress any further.
Louis' X Factor dream seemed over – until guest judge Nicole stepped in. At her suggestion, he was invited back to form a band with four other 'rejects', Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. Two weeks after they were put together, the boys performed their first song as a group – an acoustic version of Torn – for their mentor Simon. The public loved them, and One Direction went on to finish the competition in third place.
Immediately afterwards, they signed up to Simon's Syco record label. In September 2011, they released their debut single, What Makes You Beautiful, which entered the UK charts at number one.Their first album, Up All Night, was released at the start of 2012. It became the UK's fastest-selling debut album and went to No.1 in 16 countries – including America. The boys had set a new record, as the first British group in US chart history to enter at No.1 with a debut album. One Direction declared an indefinite hiatus in 2016 to persure solo projects.
Louis Tomlinson's personal life
Louis has been in an on-off relationship with Eleanor Calder since November 2011. They pair split in March 2015, got back together in early 2017, and broke up again in late 2022, as announced in January 2023.
In July 2015, it was reported that Louis was expecting a baby with then 23-year-old stylist, Briana Jungwirth. Louis' son was born 21 January 2016. The star was in a relationship with actress Danielle Campbell from November 2015 to December 2016. After breaking up with Eleanor Calder, he had a brief relationship with Danish model Sofie Nyvang.
In December 2016, Tomlinson's mother, Johannah Deakin, died of leukaemia. In March 2019, Tomlinson's younger sister, Félicité Tomlinson, died from an accidental overdose.
What is Louis Tomlinson doing now?
Following a successful stint as a member of one of the UK's most popular boybands, Louis released "Just Hold On" as a debut solo single in December 2016. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum in the UK. He continues to write and produce music, embarking on a solo world tour in 2023.