London, England · pop · britpop

Lily Allen

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Wrote the meanest, funniest pop of the late 2000s in a plain London accent, then came back with a divorce record that gives away more than most artists ever would.

Lily Allen was born in Hammersmith, west London, in 1985, the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her early years were unsettled: time on a council estate, a period living with comedian Harry Enfield while he and her mother were together, and a family friendship with The Clash's Joe Strummer. She attended thirteen schools, including Hill House School and Bedales, and was expelled from several for drinking and smoking.

She first drew attention in the mid-2000s through songs posted on Myspace, which led to airplay on BBC Radio 1 and a deal with Regal Recordings. Smile reached number one on the UK singles chart in 2006 and went double platinum, while the album Alright, Still peaked at number two, sold over 2.6 million copies worldwide and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

Its follow-up, It's Not Me, It's You, moved toward synth-pop while keeping the same directness, topping the charts in Britain and Australia and producing the singles The Fear, Not Fair and Fuck You. The record helped bring her a Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, and she and Amy Winehouse were credited with prompting the press to declare 2009 pop's year of the women.

Later albums moved through different registers: Sheezus in 2014 returned her to the top of the UK chart, No Shame in 2018 peaked at number eight, and West End Girl in 2025, written in the aftermath of her divorce, reached number two to wide critical praise.

Alongside music, Allen hosted the BBC Three talk show Lily Allen and Friends, founded the record label In the Name Of, and published the memoir My Thoughts Exactly. She has acted in the film How to Build a Girl and made her West End stage debut in 2:22 A Ghost Story, earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress.

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