Paloma Faith - Biography
Paloma Faith is a British singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Hackney, just northeast of London, to a Spanish father and English mother, she was encouraged to pursue dance and performance. At 18, she debuted on the local cabaret circuit singing covers with her band, Paloma & the Penetrators. Soon after, she worked as a magician's assistant and spent time in a burlesque troupe to help pay for college, earning a degree in contemporary dance and a Masters in Time Based Arts.
Faith began writing and performing her own material in 2007-2008, declining an invitation to join Amy Winehouse's band so she could focus on her work. Her reputation quickly grew, due in part to her uniquely outlandish stage show, and she started being recognized as one of London's most flamboyant acts. In 2009, her debut single, "Stone Cold Sober," reached number 17 on the UK charts, with its follow up single, "New York," peaking at number 15. Her debut full-legnth, Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful? (Epic), was released in the UK in Septebmer 2009 and would go on to spend 16 weeks on the charts, peaking at number 9. In June 2010, Faith released an updated version of her single, "New York," featuring rapper Ghostface Killah. Also in 2010, Faith appeared at the iTunes Festival and a live EP soon followed. Faith was nominated for "British Female Solo Artist" at the 2011 BRIT Awards, and perfomed on stage alongside Cee Lo Green. Paloma Faith's second album, Fall To Grace (Epic), was released in May 2012 in the UK and in December 2012 in the US. The album was certified Platinum in the UK and she received two nominations at the 2013 Brit Awards for Best Female and Best British Album. In 2013, she recorded an acoustic cover of Bob Marley’s "Redemption Song" for the ONE Campaign to fight extreme poverty and prevantable disease.
In addition to her singing career, Paloma Faith has also acted in television and film. In 2007, Faith appeared in an episode of the BBC police drama Holby Blue, portraying a thief. In 2009, Faith was cast alongside Tom Waits in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. She also appeared in the horror film Dread and starred in the TV series Coming Up. Most recently, Faith appeared as cabaret performer in the BBC comedy, Blandings.
