Perrie Edwards

Perrie Louise Edwards was born on 10 July 1993,[7] to parents Deborah "Debbie" Duffy and Alexander Edwards, who separated when she was young and both remarried. Edwards was raised in the Whiteleas area of South Shields, Tyne and Wear.[8] alongside her brother named Jonnie Edwards and paternal half-sister named Caitlin Edwards. She is of English, Scottish, Irish and Swedish heritage.

Edwards attended Radipole Primary School in Weymouth, Dorset before moving back to South Shields.[9] She attended St. Peter and Paul RC Primary School, and Mortimer Community College in South Shields,[9] and later transferred to Newcastle College, where she received a BTEC in Performing Arts.[9] Edwards lived in Hamilton, New Zealand for two years as a teenager.[10]

Her first audition on The X Factor was "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette.[11] After she failed the first bootcamp challenge to progress through to the Girls category (solo females aged 16–24), Edwards was then placed in a four-piece group named "Faux Pas" alongside Jesy Nelson. Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock were in another group called "Orion". Both groups, however, failed to progress. Later, a decision was made by the judges to bring back the four to form the four-piece group Rhythmix, and they progressed to judges' houses.[12] They eventually reached the live shows and were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos.[13] On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the band's new name would be Little Mix.[14] On 11 December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners, making them the first band ever to win the show.[15]

Edwards has released six albums and one greatest hits album with the band, DNA (2012), Salute (2013), Get Weird (2015), Glory Days (2016), LM5 (2018) andConfetti (2020). Between Us (2021) is their only greatest hits album for now. Dixon, Faye (20 August 2019). "Eight years of Little Mix: Girl group celebrates milestone anniversary with social media message". Shields Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.</ref> In 2019, she became the new face for the Italian brand Superga and released her first designed collection of shoes.[16] In 2020, Edwards become the first female ambassador for the brand "Supreme Nutrition".[17] Later that year, Edwards was revealed as the new face of Nando's, a Portuguese-African food franchise. She also appeared in their television advertisements.[18]

Edwards first teased her lifestyle and fashion brand, Disora, in late 2020, when she changed her Instagram bio link to the Disora website. The account made their first post on 10 October 2021 teasing the brand’s launch, with an official announcement of the launch date following on 22 October 2021. Disora have described themselves as a "contemporary luxury" brand.[19][20]

She attended Newcastle Sixth Form college from age 16-18. In 2012 during the recording stages for Little Mix's album DNA, Edwards underwent surgery to remove her inflamed tonsils.[21] In the same year of May 2012, she started dating British singer Zayn Malik, after they met when she was a contestant on The X Factor UK in 2011.[21] In August 2013 the couple announced their engagement but separated in August 2015.[22]

In November 2016, Edwards began dating English professional footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but their relationship was not confirmed until February in 2017.[23][24][25] Edwards was born with oesophageal atresia, which is responsible for the bisectional scar on her stomach,[26] and anosmia.[27] In 2017, Edwards was scheduled to perform alongside Little Mix in Las Vegas but was later hospitalized due to suffering from gastric problems.[28]

In August 2018, Edwards revealed via Instagram that she received further treatment on her throat for her oesophageal condition. In April 2019, she shared her struggles with panic attacks and anxiety via Instagram[29] and was interviewed by Glamour Magazine regarding this subject.[30] On 10 May 2021, Edward's announced that she was expecting her first child with Oxlade-Chamberlain,[31] and on 21 August of the same year, gave birth to a son.[32]