Harry Styles

Singer and actor

• Born: February 1, 1994
• Place of Birth: Worcestershire, England

Significance: Harry Styles is a British singer, songwriter, and actor who was a member of the superstar boy band One Direction. He later launched a solo career, releasing hit songs such as “Sign of the Times” and “Watermelon Sugar.”

Background

Harry Edward Styles was born on February 1, 1994, in Worcestershire, England. While he was still a baby, the Styles family, including older sister Gemma, moved to Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, where Styles spent his formative years. Styles was raised primarily by his mother, Anne, after she and his father, Desmond Styles, divorced when he was seven. His mother later married bar owner Robin Twist.

Styles attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, during which time he joined several friends to form a garage band called White Eskimo. They played local talent shows and were even hired for a wedding. Styles also worked in a bakery after school for extra money.

In 2010, at the age of sixteen, Styles and his mother traveled to London, where he auditioned for the UK singing competition show X-Factor. He managed to make it through a few rounds of the solo competition but was eventually eliminated. Instead, Styles was invited to join four other contestants—Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik—to form a new boy band. The band, called One Direction, came in third place in the group competition. They went on to sign a record deal with X-Factor judge and record producer Simon Cowell’s label Syco Records in 2011. In the US, they signed a deal with Columbia Records.

Music Career

One Direction’s first album, Up All Night, was released in 2011 and contained the mega-hits “What Makes You Beautiful” and “One Thing.” When it was released in the United States in 2012, Up All Night debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, making the band the first British group to do so with their first release.

Between 2012 and 2014, the band released three more albums, each debuting at number one on the Billboard charts. Each album was supported by its own world tour and an exhaustive social media push. Wherever they went, they were met by fans, who sold out their shows in seconds. In 2013, they released the documentary film One Direction: This Is Us, which chronicled the band’s rapid rise to fame and documented their worldwide Take Me Home tour in support of their second album.

In 2015, Malik announced he was leaving the band. That same year, One Direction released its final album, Made in the A.M. (2015), without their fifth bandmate. While One Direction did not technically break up, they announced their separation in August 2015 and went on permanent hiatus in 2016. After the final four members of the band went their separate ways, Styles launched his solo career.

Drawing on his experiences co-writing songs for One Direction, as well as for other artists, including singers Ariana Grande (“Just a Little Bit of Your Heart”), Michael Bublé (“Someday”), and Cam (“Changes”), Styles co-wrote all the songs on his debut solo album, Harry Styles (2017). The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and proved popular among many One Direction fans. His second album, Fine Line, followed in 2019, breaking sales records in the US. The album featured the 2020 summer anthem “Watermelon Sugar,” which also earned Styles his first Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance. His 2022 album, Harry's House, claimed the Grammy Awards Album of the Year award in 2023, with its "As It Was" single claiming the number one song of the year. In July 2023, Styles wrapped up his Love on Tour concert tour, which became the tenth-highest grossing tour in music history.

Acting and Public Persona

In 2016, director Christopher Nolan cast Styles in Dunkirk, the 2017 film about the 1940 mass evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk beach in France. His subtle performance earned praise from critics for blending in instead of standing out as a pop star. Styles was subsequently cast in starring roles in actor and director Olivia Wilde’s thriller Don’t Worry Darling (2022) and the drama My Policeman (2022). Don’t Worry Darling completed filming in early 2021, after a brief pause due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, while My Policeman began filming later that year.

As Styles’s solo career took off, he became known not only for his music but for his bold sense of fashion. He incorporated traditionally feminine clothing into his looks, and he became known for his love of Gucci. In 2018, he became the spokesmodel for the fashion house’s tailoring campaign. His fashion choices also landed him a co-hosting role at the 2019 Met Gala with singer Lady Gaga, athlete Serena Williams, fashion designer Alessandro Michele, and Anna Wintour, editor in chief for Vogue.

In December 2020, Styles became the first solo male subject to appear on the cover of Vogue. The photo, which featured Styles in a frothy evening gown and tailored tuxedo jacket, quickly went viral and garnered both praise and criticism for the gender-fluid ensemble. In 2021, he modeled for Gucci’s Beloved line of handbags.

In November 2021, Styles launched a lifestyle brand called Pleasing. In September 2024, he announced a collaboration between Pleasing and Disney centered on a collection of clothing, accessories, skin care products, and nail polish themed to the Disney classic Fantasia. In addition to being available for purchase online, the items in Styles's new Pleasing line were planned to be sold at a pop-up store at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida.

Impact

Styles has become a fashion icon whose looks have inspired viral trends among his fans. His solo career allowed him to break away from his clean-cut boy band image, taking on a more sensitive, vulnerable persona while simultaneously testing the boundaries of gender identity. His comfort with and support of gender fluidity, including his incorporation of what was traditionally thought of as women’s clothing into his own signature look, has won him high praise in the LGBTQ+ community. He is known for promoting the concept of treating people with kindness and often donates the proceeds from his concerts to charity.

Personal Life

Styles splits his time between London and California. Throughout his career, he has been connected to many celebrities. He dated Taylor Swift briefly in 2016, a relationship that inspired two of her songs: “Style” and “Out of the Woods.” He reportedly began dating Olivia Wilde in 2021, but by January 2023, they were reported to be friends.

While Styles has publicly dated women, he refuses to label his sexual identity.

Bibliography

Bowles, Hamish. “Playtime with Harry Styles.” Vogue, 13 Nov. 2020, www.vogue.com/article/harry-styles-cover-december-2020. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

"Harry Styles." AllMusic, 2024, www.allmusic.com/artist/harry-styles-mn0002854537. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

Mohammed, Hikmat. "Harry Styles’ Pleasing Collaborates With Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ on a Joyous Collection." Women's Wear Daily, 23 Sept. 2024, wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/harry-styles-pleasing-disney-collaboration-1236633837. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

Rogers, Jude. “Harry Styles: Teen Star Turned Serious Player?” The Guardian, 13 May 2017, www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/13/harry-styles-debut-solo-album-one-direction-observer-profile. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

Rubin, Elana. “Harry Styles Is the Greatest Artist of a Decade.” Insider, 11 Dec. 2019, www.insider.com/harry-styles-artist-of-the-decade-2010s-2019-12. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

Sheffield, Rob. “The Eternal Sunshine of Harry Styles.” Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2019, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/harry-styles-cover-interview-album-871568. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.

Styles, Harry. “Harry Styles on ‘Fine Line,’ Stevie Nicks and His Definition of Success.” Interview by Mary Louise Kelly and Mallory Yu. All Things Considered, NPR, 27 Feb. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/02/27/809971451/harry-styles-on-fine-line-stevie-nicks-and-his-definition-of-success. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.