Charlotte Church

Charlotte Church
Church performing at Focus Wales 2013
Background information
Birth name	Charlotte Maria Reed
Born	(1986-02-21) 21 February 1986 (age 30) Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales
Genres	Current material: Pop, indie rock, indie pop, alternative rock Earlier material: Classical, classical crossover, operatic pop, celtic
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Sony Music (1998–2006) Power Amp Music (2010–2011)
Website	charlottechurchmusic.com

Charlotte Maria Church (born 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter.

She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States. In 2010 she was reported to be worth as much as £11m (though one 2003 report quoted her worth at £25m). She hosted a Channel 4 chat show titled The Charlotte Church Show. Church released her first album in five years, titled Back to Scratch, on 17 October 2010. Church is a soprano.

Charlotte Church was born Charlotte Maria Reed in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, Wales. She was brought up as a Roman Catholic by her mother, Maria, who was separated from Church's biological father, Stephen Reed. Church was adopted by her mother's second husband, James Church, in 1999. Her musical break came at age 11 when she sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" over the telephone on the television show This Morning in 1997, followed by her performance on ITV's Big, Big Talent Show in 1997.

This led to concerts at Cardiff Arms Park, the Royal Albert Hall and opening for Dame Shirley Bassey in Antwerp. She also received a vocal scholarship to Howell's School Llandaff in Cardiff where she started in 1998 after leaving The Cathedral School, Llandaff. She balanced performing and school with help from tutors for when she was on the road and said in many interviews that she was "just like every other girl her age". Charlotte left school at age 16.