Tulisa | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Tula Paulinea Contostavlos |
Born | Camden, London, England | 13 July 1988
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | |
Website | TulisaOfficial.com |
Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (born 13 July 1988),[1] known as Tulisa, is a English singer, songwriter, actress and television personality of Greek and Irish ancestry. She was a member of the Camden-based hip hop group N-Dubz. Tulisa was also a judge on The X Factor.
Tula Paulinea Contostavlos was born on 13 July 1988[1] in Camden Town, London. When Contostavlos was five, her mother, who has bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.[2] The 2010 BBC programme, Tulisa: My Mum and Me, described Contostavlos' life looking after her mother before joining N-Dubz.[3]
On 9 March 2020, Contostavlos revealed she suffered from Bell's palsy.[4]
Her Irish mother, Anne Byrne, was born in Churchtown, Dublin. Anne and her three sisters were in a 1980's big band and swing group, called Jeep.[5][6] Contostavlos' father, Plato Contostavlos, is Greek-Cypriot and at one time was keyboardist with Mungo Jerry.[7] Plato's brother, Byron Contostavlos, was bassist with Mungo Jerry and later became the manager of N-Dubz.[8]
Tulisa was in the band N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and their friend Fazer. The group became very popular. Tulisa was a celebrity judge on The X Factor in 2011 and 2012. She mentored the "Groups" category in 2011. They included Little Mix, the first group to win the competition. Tulisa returned to the show in 2014 because Mel B was ill.
As a singer, Contostavlos has recorded three studio albums with N-Dubz, Uncle B (2008), Against All Odds (2009) and Love.Live.Life (2010). In 2011, she started work on a solo album. In 2012 it was released. The Female Boss got a lot of bad reviews and didn't chart well. Three singles were released from the album. The first single, "Young", entered the UK Singles Chart at number one.
In 2022, N-Dubz went on a reunion tour. They have also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox together since 2023.
In June 2013, Costostavlos, along with rapper Mike GLC were arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs.[9][10] In July 2014, Contostavlos' trial for supplying cocaine ended because it was discovered that the journalist who accused her, Mazher Mahmood, had lied to the court.
In July 2014, she made a documentary about her time during the trial named Tulisa: The Price of Fame, which premiered on BBC Three to a moderate success, attracting 615,000 viewers (3.8% of the audience within its time slot).[11] In April 2015, Justice Nicholas Kearns, President of the Irish High Court, described her as having been "cruelly deceived in a shabby sting operation", but dismissed her attempt to sue the Irish Sun for defamation.[12]
After the collapse of her drug trial, The Guardian's Suzanne Moore wrote an article on Contostavlos image and reputation and wrote that "Tulisa is famously a working class girl made good, though of course made good is never what she is allowed to be".[13] In Moore's opinion, "Tulisa has been branded by the media as a chav and therefore almost anything can be said about her".[13]
See also: N-Dubz discography |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007–2009 | Dubplate Drama | Laurissa | Series 2–3 |
2010 | Tulisa: My Mum & Me | Herself | |
2010–2011 | Being... N-Dubz | Documentary | |
2011 | Before They Were Dubz | Documentary | |
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster | Shaniqua | ||
Demons Never Die | Amber | ||
2011 & 2012 | The X Factor | Judge | |
2014 | Guest Judge | Temporary replacement for ill Mel B | |
2011–2012, 2014 | The Xtra Factor | Herself | The X Factor spin-off |
2014 | Tulisa: The Price of Fame | Documentary | |
2016 | Hoff The Record | Cameo appearance | |
TBA | Diva | Sista C | Film in development |