Leigh-Anne Pinnock is an English singer and songwriter, known for being a member of the British four-piece girl groupLittle Mix. The group was formed on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011 and became the first group to win the competition. Since their debut the girl group has sold just under 60 million records worldwide, placing them in the top 5 of the best selling girl groups of all time.
Early life
Leigh-Anne Pinnock was born on 4 October 1991, and was raised in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Pinnock is of Barbadian and Jamaican ancestry. She is the daughter of Deborah Thornhill, a teacher at the Harlington Community School, and John L. Pinnock, a mechanic, both whom filed for divorce in 2009. She is the youngest of three children and growing up, she looked up to her two older sisters Sian-Louise Pinnock and Sairah Pinnock. Other than her sisters, she also spent most of her time with her grandfather in Jamaica. Pinnock primarily attended Sir William Ramsay School, where she was described as hard-working, ambitious and talented by her drama teacher. Then, she enrolled at the Sylvia Young Theatre School for a couple of years when she was eleven. Before joining Little Mix, she worked as a waitress in Pizza Hut.
Career
Pinnock's first audition on The X Factor was "Only Girl " by Rihanna. Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall were initially put in a group named "Orion" and Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson were in another group called "Faux Pas". Both groups, however, were eliminated. Later, the four was called back to form into the four-piece group Rhythmix, and they progressed to judges' houses. They eventually reached the live shows and were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos. On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the group's new name would be Little Mix. On 11 December 2011, Little Mix were announced as the winners, the first group to win the programme. As of 2018, Pinnock has released five albums with the group: DNA, Salute, Get Weird, Glory Days and LM5. In February 2015, Pinnock launched a Tumblrfashionblog called "Leigh Loves". In April 2019, Pinnock, alongside Thirlwall, signed to Sony/ATV via joint venture TwentySeven as published songwriters. Later that month, Pinnock began her own swimwear range with Gabrielle Urquhart, titled In'A'Seashell. She also became the new face of the sports brand Umbro in March 2019. In April 2020, it was announced that Pinnock would be launching a documentary with BBC, detailing experiences of racism and colourism in the United Kingdom.
Personal life
From 2013 to 2016, Pinnock was in an on-and-off relationship with footballer Jordan Kiffin. They met at a release party for Little Mix's single "Wings". In 2016, it was confirmed that she is been in a relationship with professional footballer Andre Gray; the pair became engaged on their four-year anniversary on 28 May 2020. In 2019, Pinnock and Thirlwall, along with other British celebrities, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. In an interview with Glamour magazine in March 2019, Pinnock opened up about dealing with racism and comments on Twitter while feeling "invisible" for the first three years as the only black girl in Little Mix.
