Leigh-Anne Pinnock

Leigh-Anne Pinnock (born 4 October 1991) is an English singer, actress and songwriter. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of the girl group Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups ever. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and achieved five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.

While in Little Mix, Pinnock released her documentary '' Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power'' (2021), which was met with critical acclaim. At the 26th National Television Awards, it received a nomination for "Best Authored Documentary". In the same year, she made her acting debut in the film ''Boxing Day'', which became the first British festive rom-com to be led by an all-black cast. Besides music, she is also known for her activism in fighting against racism and in 2020, she won the Equality Award in recognition for her work towards racial equality in the UK.

Early life

Leigh-Anne Pinnock was born on 4 October 1991, to black mixed-race parents Deborah Thornhill, a history teacher, and John Pinnock, and was raised in a Caribbean household. Pinnock lived in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. with her two older sisters Sian-Louise and Sairah. Pinnock has Barbadian and Jamaican ancestry and counts Jamaica as her second home. She has been spending her holidays there since she was a child, with many of her relatives still living there.

Before joining Little Mix, she worked as a waitress at Pizza Hut. Her early experience of organised singing came when she joined a youth club and choir then run by Jay Blades, who later became a trustee of her charity ''The Black Fund'' that she founded in 2021. In 2020, she spoke about the first time she experienced racism at the age of nine, for a documentary that was later aired on Channel 4.

Career

2011–2021: Little Mix and other ventures

Pinnock's first audition on ''The X Factor'' was "Only Girl (In the World)" by Rihanna. After she failed the first bootcamp challenge she was placed in a three-piece group named "Orion" alongside Jade Thirlwall. Orion performed rendition of " Yeah" by Chris Brown. Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson were in another group called "Faux Pas". Faux Pas performed a rendition of " Survivor" by Destiny's Child. Both groups, however, were eliminated. Later, the four were called back by the judges to form into the four-piece group Rhythmix, and they progressed to judges' houses. They eventually reached the live shows and were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos. On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the band's new name would be Little Mix. In December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners, making them the first group to ever win the British version of the show.

As of 2022, Pinnock has released seven albums with the group: '' DNA'' (2012), ''Salute'' (2013), ''Get Weird'' (2015), '' Glory Days'' (2016), '' LM5'' (2018) ''Confetti'' (2020), and '' Between Us'' (2021).

Outside of the group Pinnock has ventured into her own solo projects. In February 2015, she launched a Tumblr fashion blog called "Leigh Loves". In 2016, Pinnock was attacked at a London restaurant by a male diner. In December 2017 while performing alongside Little Mix as an opening act for Ariana Grande, Dangerous Woman Tour, she suffered a burn backstage at one of their gigs. In April 2019, she signed to Sony/ATV via joint venture TwentySeven as a published songwriter. Later that month, Pinnock released her own swimwear range with Gabrielle Urquhart, titled In'A'Seashell.

In March 2019, Pinnock was named as the new face of the sports brand Umbro. In April 2020, she revealed she would be launching a documentary with BBC
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