Olivia Dean Artistfacts

March 14, 1999
Raised in Haringey, London, Olivia Dean's childhood was a melting pot of musical influences. Her Jamaican-Guyanese mother and English father immersed her in diverse sounds, from Broadway show tunes at school to gospel in church. These eclectic beginnings ultimately shaped her unique neo-soul style.
Her grandmother was part of the Windrush generation, immigrating to the UK from Guyana at age 18.
Her cousin is So Solid Crew rapper and actor Ashley Walters, but it was another Londoner who was Olivia's first musical love.

"People always try and say something cool when they talk about their first record - but I remember my Granny taking me to Woolworths to buy Leona Lewis's "A Moment Like This" on CD single," she told the BBC. "My head was really in that pop space, I was listening to Leona and JLS and loving it."

As she got older, her dad introduced Olivia to Carole King and Al Green while her mum was playing Jill Scott, Angie Stone and Lauryn Hill (from whom Olivia gets her middle name).
When Dean was accepted into the prestigious BRIT School at age 15, she determinedly made a three-hour round trip to her classes every day. "I wanted to go there like hell or high water," she said.

Dean initially studied theater before switching to songwriting. She convinced her mother to buy her a secondhand piano to help with her writing.
Dean began writing songs at 16 and taught herself guitar and piano. She performed at her graduation concert and soon caught the attention of her future manager, Emily Braham.
At 17, Dean became a backup vocalist for Rudimental, performing her first show in front of 16,000 people at the Sziget Festival in Budapest. She wasn't a very good back-up singer.

"There were times where I was supposed to be singing the harmony, but I'd think actually I'm just gonna sing the tune," Dean admitted to The Evening Standard. "I would just zone out and get lost in it."
Her debut EP, OK Love You Bye (2019), was recorded in a converted east London pub and garnered millions of streams, leading to a record deal with EMI.
Dean was named Amazon Music's breakthrough artist of the year in 2021 and BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year in 2023. Her debut album, Messy (2023), was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
A self-proclaimed Motown head, Dean loves the classic sounds of Diana Ross and The Supremes, even weaving thoughtful nods into her songs. She channeled her love for Diana Ross into her single "Dive," which includes an Easter egg with the line: "I'm coming out and diving in tonight." ("I'm Coming Out" is one of Ross' most famous songs.)
Dean's mother Christine became the first Black deputy leader of a political party in Europe when she was appointed the deputy leader of the Women's Equality Party in June 2020.

"If she sets her mind to something she will do it," Olivia told The Evening Standard. "I'm very lucky that I have that in me and can be so driven if I want to be, if I set myself a goal I can't sleep at night until I've done it so I'm grateful she gave that to me."
Among Olivia Dean's hobbies are knitting, painting and going to gigs.
Olivia Dean is the first female solo artist to have four singles in the UK Official Charts Top 10 simultaneously. On the chart dated October 24, 2025, she placed with:

#2 "Man I Need"
#6 "So Easy (To Fall In Love)"
#8 "Nice To Each Other"
#10 "Rein Me In," her collaboration with Sam Fender.
She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2026, beating a field that included Alex Warren, Sombr and Lola Young. Immigration raids were big news at the time; she used her speech to point out that she's the granddaughter of an immigrant. "I'm a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated," she said.
The first piece of music that Olivia Dean fell in love with was the Disney song "Colors Of The Wind" from Pocahontas. She told Elle she would watch it on TV "again and again and again," much to the frustration of her mum and granny. Back then, she wanted to be Pocahontas.
Dean's first experience playing a proper gig with other musicians, rather than just playing guitar alone in her room, was a BRIT School show where every student had to write an original song and perform it with a band. She played timbales at the show and remembers thinking, "I'm in the music industry."

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