Olivia Dean

Early life and education Dean was born on 14 March 1999, in the London Borough of Haringey. Her father is English and her mother Christine is a lawyer of Jamaican and Guyanese descent. Her maternal grandmother, Carmen, emigrated to the United Kingdom from Guyana aged 18 as part of the Windrush generation. Carmen was "quite young" when she gave birth to Dean's mother. Dean received her middle name Lauryn as her mother was a fan of American singer Lauryn Hill. Actor Ashley Walters, who was a rapper in So Solid Crew, is her cousin. She was one of a few black girls in her primary school, which made her want to leave the area. In 2020, she said that attending BRIT School was "the best thing I ever did". At BRIT School, she became close friends with classmates Rachel Chinouriri and Raye.

Career 2017–2024: Career beginnings and Messy Dean began writing songs at age 16, teaching herself the guitar and piano. Dean performed at her high school graduation concert, which attracted the attention of Emily Braham of Yo&Co, whom she hired as her manager. Braham got Dean into an audition with Rudimental, who hired Dean as a backing vocalist.

In October 2018, Dean self-released her debut single, "Reason to Stay". That year, she was chosen as BBC Introducing London's Featured Artist of the Week and performed at a BBC Introducing show at The Lexington, Islington. Some of the shows had only five or 10 attendees. Her second EP, What Am I Gonna Do on Sundays?, was released in December 2020.

In April 2021, she was named the breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music. That month, she played at The Jazz Cafe in her first performance after the COVID-19 lockdowns; a video of the performance became a viral video on TikTok. In July 2021, she released the EP, Growth. In August 2021, Dean performed six concerts at venues in southern England as part of the Revive Live Tour organised by Music Venue Trust and funded by The National Lottery to help revive live music venues after the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, Dean recorded a version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" for Amazon's Christmas Originals line-up, which charted at number 19 on the UK singles chart. In May 2023, she performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. In June 2023, she released her debut full-length album, Messy, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize. Dean performed at Glastonbury Festival 2024; performing at the festival had been a childhood dream of hers. In June 2024, she released the single "Time". She released a cover of The Supremes's "You Can't Hurry Love", recorded at Jools' Annual Hootenanny, in October 2024. In November, she released another single, "Touching Toes".

2025–present: Breakthrough with The Art of Loving

In February 2025, Dean released the single "It Isn't Perfect But It Might Be" for the film Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Also in February 2025, Dean performed on all six dates of Laneway Festival, with shows in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, her first shows in Australia and New Zealand. Dean supported Sam Fender on selected dates of Fender's People Watching Tour in June and August 2025, including shows at London Stadium and St James' Park, and collaborated with Fender on a duet version of "Rein Me In", released in June. Dean performed a secret set at Glastonbury Festival 2025. The album included the singles "Nice to Each Other", "Lady Lady", "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", "A Couple Minutes", and "Man I Need". All the singles charted; "Man I Need" became her first number 1 on the UK singles chart, reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 4 on the Billboard Global 200. She became the first female solo artist to simultaneously have four singles in the Top 10 of the UK singles chart. On 16 November 2025, Dean was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She performed songs from her album The Art of Loving including "Man I Need" and "Let Alone the One You Love".

In November 2025, Dean also announced The Art of Loving Live tour with stops in 14 cities in the United States and 15 cities in Europe. However, once tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster, fans encountered online queues of thousands of people and expensive ticket resales. and said that the secondary ticketing market was "exploitative and unregulated". As a result of the controversy, Ticketmaster and AXS capped resale ticket prices for Dean's tour and provided refunds for fans that paid above face value; Dean said that she was excited to see "real people" at her shows.

In January 2026, Billboard named Dean Rookie of the Year. That month, she performed "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" on The Graham Norton Show. The following month, her duet with Sam Fender, "Rein Me In", became Dean's second UK number 1 after thirty-five weeks in the UK Top 40. As of July 2026, the song had spent twenty-three weeks at number 1 on the chart, becoming the longest-running number 1 by a British act, breaking a thirty-two-year-long record previously held by Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around", and also becoming the longest-running number 1 single of all time, surpassing the seventy-three-year long record of eighteen non-consecutive weeks set by Frankie Laine's "I Believe" in 1953. In February 2026, Dean won four awards at the 46th Brit Awards ceremony. Her music is described as "devastating heartbreak ballads and sing-along self-love anthems". In additional to musical influences, Dean has also referenced literary influences in her exploration of love, such as author bell hooks and her book All About Love.

Personal life Dean has been in a relationship with American drummer Eddie Burns, a band member for Clairo, since April 2025.

Dean is a brand ambassador for Chanel. In March 2026, Dean was announced as Hourglass's Global Brand Partner.

Dean is a supporter of West Ham United F.C. and attended many games at Upton Park with her father, a season ticket holder, during her childhood.

Political views Dean describes herself as "a very strong feminist".

In 2020, her mother became the deputy leader of the Women's Equality Party, making her the first Black deputy leader of a political party in Europe. Dean had previously paid homage to her grandmother on her album Messy in a song named after her, "Carmen".

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2025 Sam Fender – Live at London Stadium Herself Concert film

Television

Discography

Albums Messy (2023) The Art of Loving (2025)

Tours Headlining

From Me To You (2020) UK & Europe Messy Tour (2023) Across the Atlantic Tour (2025) The Art of Loving Live (2026)

Opening act Jordan Rakei – What We Call Life Tour (2022) Sam Fender – People Watching Tour (2024) Sabrina Carpenter – Short n' Sweet Tour (2025)

Awards and nominations