Ellie Goulding

Elena Jane Goulding was born on December 30, 1986, in Hereford, England, and raised in Lyonshall, Herefordshire. She learned clarinet and guitar as a child and began writing songs as a teenager before studying drama and theatre at the University of Kent, where she also developed an interest in electronic music. After meeting producer Starsmith, Ellie Goulding left university, moved to London, signed with Polydor Records, and released her debut single, “Under the Sheets,” through Neon Gold Records in 2009. She topped the BBC Sound of 2010 poll and received the BRIT Critics’ Choice Award before releasing Lights in 2010. Blending folktronica and synth-pop, the album topped the UK chart and included “Starry Eyed” and “Lights,” the latter reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ellie Goulding performed at the wedding reception of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, then released the darker Halcyon in 2012. The album reached number 9 in the United States and eventually topped the UK chart, while its expanded edition, Halcyon Days, produced her first UK Number 1 single, “Burn.” Collaborations with Calvin Harris included “I Need Your Love” and “Outside.” Goulding recorded “Love Me Like You Do” for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015; the international hit earned a Grammy nomination and preceded the dance-pop album Delirium, which reached number 3 in both the United Kingdom and United States. Following its world tour, she reduced her recording activity before returning through collaborations including Kygo’s “First Time,” “Close to Me” with Diplo and Swae Lee, and “Hate Me” with Juice WRLD. Her fourth album, Brightest Blue, topped the UK chart in 2020. Ellie Goulding reunited with Harris for “Miracle” in 2023, which spent eight weeks at Number 1 in the UK and received a Grammy nomination. Her fifth album, Higher Than Heaven, also reached Number 1 that year, giving her a simultaneous UK singles-and-albums chart double. In 2024, she performed with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall and released another Harris collaboration, “Free.” The Anyma collaboration “Hypnotized,” “Save My Love” with Marshmello and AVAION, and her solo single “Destiny” followed in 2025. After appearing on ILLENIUM’s “Don’t Want Your Love,” Ellie Goulding was appointed an MBE for services to biodiversity and climate awareness in 2026. She subsequently joined Muse on “Hush” and announced her sixth album, I Know Too Much, released on September 4, 2026, and preceded by “Black Prada Dress,” “4 Seasons,” and “Ravers.”