Ellie Goulding

Background

Ellie Jane Goulding was born in Hereford, England, on December 30, 1986. Her mother, Tracey Goulding-Summers, worked at a supermarket, and her father, Arthur Goulding, was a member of an undertaker family. Goulding is the second child and has a brother named Alex, an older sister named Isabel, and a second sister named Jordan. Alex, her brother, plays bass and is a member of a Hereford band. Her mother encouraged her to pursue music as a child. When she was nine years old, she began learning the clarinet. When she was 14, she began writing her songs but didn’t begin truly pursuing songwriting until her college years.

Goulding developed an interest in electronic music when she was studying. Through MySpace, she got in touch with record producer Frankmusik, and with his assistance, she created her kind of folktronica music. She was found during this time by scout Jamie Lillywhite, who initially served as her manager before transitioning to the position of A.&R. at a university talent competition. Lillywhite subsequently connected her to the music producer Starsmith, who assisted in the November 15, 2009, publication of her debut single, ‘Under the Sheets.’ Later, he worked on her album “Lights.” Even though they released ‘Under the Sheets’ on the indie label Neon Gold Records, she was already signed to Polydor Records. She was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Award at the 2010 Brit Awards not long after the publication of her debut E.P., “An Introduction to Ellie Goulding,” on December 20, 2009. The award and the B.B.C. Sound of the 2010 poll went to her. She co-wrote three songs for Diana Vickers and one for Gabriella Cilmi at this time. She released her debut full-length album, “Lights,” on February 26, 2010, and it debuted at the top of the U.K. Albums Chart. “Halcyon,” Goulding’s second studio album, was released on October 5, 2012; it started at number two on the U.K. Albums Chart and reached number one in January 2014. Her third studio album, “Delirium,” was released on November 6, 2015, and it received favorable reviews from critics. She received her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance for the album, which featured the song ‘Love Me Like You Do’ from the 2015 movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack. On July 17, 2020, she released her fourth album, “Brightest Blue.” It debuted in the U.K. Album Chart’s top spot.

Goulding and her partner, art dealer Caspar Jopling, made their engagement public on August 7, 2018. On August 31, 2019, the couple exchanged vows at York Minster. Goulding and Jopling made their first child’s impending arrival public in February 2021, and on April 29, 2021, she gave birth to a boy named Arthur Ever Winter Jopling.