Louis Tomlinson

He has dated several women. He was once in a relationship with student Eleanor Calder for nearly four years before breaking up. It was reported in mid 2015 that Tomlinson was expecting a baby with American stylist Briana Jungwirth.

He was born as Louis Troy Austin on 24 December 1991 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England to Johannah Poulston and Troy Austin. His parents split up when he was young. His mother later married Mark Tomlinson and Louis took on his stepfather’s surname.

He studied at the Hayfield School before moving on to Hall Cross School. He was not much inclined towards academics. He loved singing and acting, and was very active in his high school musical productions. He also took acting lessons and played the lead role of Danny Zuko in the Hall Cross musical production of ‘Grease’. As a young boy he received the chance to play small parts on the television dramas ‘If I Had You’ and ‘Waterloo Road’.

In 2009, he auditioned for the television talent competition ‘The X Factor’ but was turned down. Undaunted, he auditioned again in 2010 and successfully entered the competition. He cleared many of the rounds but was eliminated before the final round.

The judges, however, united him with his fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik to form a group act. The boys named the group One Direction. Their performance greatly pleased Simon Cowell who recognized the boy’s potential and gave them a contract with his music label.

One Direction’s first single, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ was released in September 2011 in the UK and became a No. 1 hit. Their debut album ‘Up All Night’ was released in the UK in late 2011, followed by a worldwide release during 2012. It proved to be a big hit and established each one of the boys as youth icons.

One Direction’s album, ‘Take Me Home’ was a huge critical as well as commercial success. The album topped the charts in more than 35 countries and its lead single ‘Live While We're Young’ peaked inside the top ten in almost every country it charted in. According to Sony Music, the album has sold over five million copies worldwide.

The band’s album ‘Four’ debuted at No. 1 in 18 countries including the UK, Australia US, Denmark, Canada, and Ireland. In addition, the deluxe edition of ‘Four’ became the top charted album on iTunes in some 67 countries. Worldwide the album sold over 3.2 million copies in 2014.

One Direction is the recipient of several awards including five Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, eleven MTV Europe Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, and 19 Teen Choice Awards.

In 2014, Billboard named One Direction Artist of the Year.