Kate Nash

Kate Marie Nash was born on 6 July 1987 in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in north west London. An aspiring actress in her youth, Kate studied drama at the London BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. A twist of fate in the form of a broken foot left her bedridden and whilst incapacitated she revisited some unfinished songs she'd written when she was younger. Convinced of their quality, she gigged for a while and published some of her material on MySpace, including the track that shot her to fame, Caroline's A Victim.

With the encouragement of fellow singer Lily Allen, Kate released Caroline's A Victim in 2007 on the indie Moshi Moshi Records label and it reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Her second single, Foundations, was released through Fiction Records a few months later and was also an immediate hit. Such was the demand that her debut album, Made of Bricks, was released earlier than planned in August 2007, reaching No. 1 in the UK Album Chart. Appearances at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Wireless Festival festivals followed, as well as on many TV shows, including Later with Jools Holland. She won a BRIT award for Best Female Artist, an NME award for Best Solo Artist and a Q award for Breakthrough act in 2008.

In 2009, she founded and became a director of the Featured Artists' Coalition, which lobbies for greater autonomy in the music industry for artists. She also created Kate Nash's Rock 'n' Roll for Girls After-School Music Club, which aims to inspire young women to become interested in writing and performing music. She is politically active and uses her fame and influence to raise money for worthy causes.

In 2010, she released her second album, My Best Friend Is You, which was produced by Suede's former guitarist, Bernard Butler. Her third album, Girl Talk, was released in 2013. She has collaborated with many famous musicians, including Kano, Lethal Bizzle, Sam Duckworth, Billy Bragg and Willow Smith, and she also produced Watsky's Hey Asshole in 2013. Musically she has been influenced by such diverse artists and bands as The Supremes, John Cooper Clarke, Regina Spektor, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elvis and Janis Joplin.