Eliot Paulina Sumner (born 30 July 1990) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. They are the child of musician

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

and actress

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress, director, and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was ...

. They began their music career at a young age and signed a record deal with Island Records at 17. Sumner released their debut album ''The Constant'' in 2010 under the name I Blame Coco. They have acted in films and TV shows, including '' The Gentlemen'' and ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'', and '' Ripley ''on Netflix in 2024. They were nominated for Best Newcomer at the Virgin Media Music Awards in 2010.

Early life and education

Eliot Paulina Sumner was born on 30 July 1990 in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, Italy to actress

and musician

(Gordon Sumner). They grew up in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, and were educated at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

and then the Fine Arts College in London. They grew up at Lake House, the family estate near

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

. Eliot has two brothers (Jake and Giacomo), a sister (

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, Michaela, and Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

), an older half-brother ( Joe), and a half-sister (Kate). Their family gave Sumner the nickname "Coco". Drawn to the outdoors, Sumner spent a lot of time alone in the woods. Their family gave Eliot their first guitar at age four or five.

Music career

I Blame Coco

Sumner began writing songs at the age of 15, and signed a multi-record deal with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

at age 17. They spent six months writing and recording a debut album, ''The Constant'' (2010), in Sweden with producer

Klas Åhlund Klas Frans Åhlund (born 11 April 1972) is a Swedish songwriter and producer. He is also a member of the band Teddybears along with Patrik Arve and his brother Joakim Åhlund. He is the brother of musician Joakim Åhlund who is a member of the Sw ...

, keyboardist Emlyn Maillard, and multi-instrumentalist and producer

Al Shux Alexander Shuckburgh, better known by his stage name Al Shux, is a British record producer and songwriter from London, England. He is perhaps best known for his production work on Jay-Z's 2009 single, " Empire State of Mind", which peaked atop ...

under the band name I Blame Coco. The album included elements of pop music,

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

, and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

. The first single, "

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

", featured Swedish pop singer

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 single ...

. The next single, " Self Machine", was released in July 2010. According to Christian Wåhlberg, Sumner's manager, Åhlund, had been keen to work with Sumner because he saw the "punk rocker" in them. Wåhlberg said that the electropop sound of the album was influenced by Darcus Beese, president of Island Records, and that if Sumner had signed to a different record label, the music would have been different. After recording and touring with I Blame Coco, they lived alone in a cottage in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

of England and became interested in

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

Solo career

Sumner sang a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

song " Creep" with

Clint Mansell Clinton Darryl Mansell (; born 7 November 1963) is an English musician, singer, and composer. He served as the lead vocalist of alt-rock band Pop Will Eat Itself. After the band's dissolution, Mansell moved to the United States and embarked on ...

for the soundtrack to the movie ''

Filth Filth or The Filth may refer to: Common uses * Dirt, unclean matter * Police officer, a pejorative in British slang Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel * ''Filth'', an alternative title for '' ...

'' (2013). In 2014, Sumner said their music would be released under their birth name, Eliot Sumner. Later that year, they released the EP ''

Information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

'', and in 2016 the full album ''Information'' appeared. Sumner's contributions to other musicians' albums include vocals for the song "End of the Road" by Sway and the single " Splash" by

Sub Focus Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut ...

DJ

, Sumner was also working as a DJ in European dance clubs under the moniker "Vaal".

Acting career

Sumner appeared briefly in the films '' Me Without You'' (2001) and '' Stardust'' (2007). They made their adult acting debut in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

's '' The Gentlemen'' in 2020. They appeared in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''

'' (2021). They played a hiker in the thriller ''

Infinite Storm ''Infinite Storm'' is a 2022 American drama film, drama adventure film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, co-directed by Michał Englert, and with a screenplay by Josh Rollins, based on the article "High Places: Footprints in the Snow Lead to a ...

'', appearing before

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. Known for her work predominantly in independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime ...

' character began hiking to the summit of Mt. Washington. In December 2021, Sumner was cast in Showtime's drama series '' Ripley'' in a recurring role. Sumner plays Freddie, a male character. '' Ripley'' was initially announced to be broadcast on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

, but in February 2023, it was reported that the series would be moving to

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. It was released on 4 April 2024. Sumner plays the role of hitwoman Kat in the Swedish crime/thriller series ''Vargasommar'' ('' Cry Wolf''). The series airs on the Swedish channel TV4 and premiered 25 December 2024.

Personal life

Sumner fractured their skull in a freak accident in an LA restaurant in 2009, and spent four days in intensive care. In December 2015, Sumner said that they did not believe in gender labels and did not identify with a particular gender. They use

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, Gender-neutral language, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) ...

pronouns In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not con ...

Awards and honours

* I Blame Coco was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Virgin Media Music Awards in 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other: Remixes

* Eliot Sumner – After Dark (Mr Tophat's Alterned 303 Remix) * Eliot Sumner – After Dark (Dixon Remix) * Eliot Sumner – Firewood – Lakker Remix

Music videos

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumner, Eliot Living people Musicians from Pisa Actors educated at Bryanston School People educated at Fine Arts College British indie rock musicians English electronic musicians English rock singers English pop singers English film actors English non-binary musicians English non-binary actors English LGBTQ singers Island Records artists Sting (musician)

Eliot Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which can serve as either a surname or a given name. Although the given name has historically been given to males, females have increasingly been given the name ...

Non-binary singers Genderfluid songwriters 21st-century English singers 21st-century English actors 21st-century English LGBTQ people 1990 births Actors from Pisa Genderfluid actors