Tulisa Contostavlos entered the world on July 13, 1988, and first gained widespread recognition as a founding member of the British urban pop and hip-hop group N-Dubz. She launched the act in 2000 together with cousin Dappy and longtime associate Fazer. Over the course of more than ten years, the trio issued three studio albums, routinely filled arenas across the country, and climbed high on the British singles chart thanks to songs such as “I Need You” and “We Dance On.” Even after achieving that level of success, the members chose to suspend activities in 2011 so each could pursue individual work.
That same year she joined the judging panel for the eighth series of the British edition of The X Factor, sitting alongside Kelly Rowland, Gary Barlow, and Louis Walsh. Viewers responded strongly to her engaging presence, and she guided her contestant Little Mix all the way to victory—the first occasion a female group had claimed the title. In 2012 she issued the singles “Young” and “Live It Up” from her debut solo album The Female Boss, which entered the U.K. chart at number one and number 11, respectively. Late in the same year her autobiography, Honest: My Story So Far, appeared in bookstores.
