Olivia Dean

Olivia Lauryn Dean (born 14 March 1999) is an English singer and songwriter. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and nominations for eight Brit Awards and the Mercury Prize.

After signing to EMI in 2019, Dean released her debut album Messy (2023), which received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Mercury Prize. She achieved global recognition with her second album The Art of Loving (2025), which topped the UK Albums chart and yielded the UK number one single "Man I Need". Together with the singles "Nice to Each Other", "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", and "Rein Me In", Dean became the first female solo artist to simultaneously have four UK top-ten singles. In 2026, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Early life and education

Olivia Lauryn Dean was born on March 14, 1999, in the London Borough of Haringey. Her father is English and her mother is of Jamaican and Guyanese descent. Her maternal grandmother emigrated to the United Kingdom from Guyana at age 18 as part of the Windrush generation. She was "quite young" when she gave birth to Dean's mother. Dean received her middle name, "Lauryn", because her mother was a fan of American singer Lauryn Hill. She has a younger brother. Actor Ashley Walters, who was a rapper in So Solid Crew, is her cousin.

Dean grew up in Highams Park and has said she sometimes "felt quite 'other'" for being mixed-race. Her father often listened to music and they would dance around the kitchen together. Her mother, a barrister, introduced her to the music of Jill Scott, Angie Stone, and Lauryn Hill, while her father introduced her to the music of Carole King and Al Green. One of the first CDs that she owned was a single of "A Moment Like This" (2006) by Leona Lewis.