Ed Sheeran Biography

Early Life and Education Of Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran was born Edward Christopher Sheeran on 17th February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire under the birth sign Aquarius. Sheeran is British as per nationality, and as far as his ethnicity is concerned, he is Caucasian.

Sheeran is the son of Imogen Sheeran (ran an independent art consultancy) and John Sheeran (art lecturer). He has an older brother, Matthew (composer). While Sheeran was still young, his parents moved to Framlingham. He is the cousin of Gordon Burns, Northern Irish broadcaster.

Sheeran did his school from Rishworth School and Thomas Mills High School. In 2009, he attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford as an undergraduate.

From the early age of four, Sheeran started singing in a local church. As he grew up, he learned to play guitar and began writing songs. He is a supporter of the Youth Music Theater UK and Access to Music where he studied the Artist Development course.

Sheeran joined the National Youth Theater in London as a teenager. According to him, the records of Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Joni Mitchell’s greatest hits were some of his favorites at that time. He also added that Van Morrison’s Irish Heartbeat was the first album introduced to him.

When Sheeran was young, he used to attend live concerts with his father. While attending those shows, he cited some of his icons like Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney. As per Sheeran, he started learning guitar inspired by Clapton. He even bought a black Stratocaster copy for $37 after seeing Clapton in a concert with rainbow-colored Stratocaster.

Ed Sheeran Career

Ed Sheeran started his music career in 2004. The same year, he began recording and released the first collection of his hard work titled, Spinning Man. In 2008, he moved to London to build his music career. He then began to perform in small venues.

In April 2008, Sheeran opened for Nizlopi after being their guitar technician. The following year, he released another EP, You Need Me. Later, he collaborated with Leddra Chapman and CeeLo Green. He then participated in various tours with Just Jack, and rapper Examples.

His debuted single, The A-Team was released as a digital download in the UK in 2011 which entered the UK Single Chart. The song sold over 801k copies and became one of the eight-best-selling singles of the year.

The same year, Sheeran released his debut album called, + (plus) which ranked number 1 on the UK Chart Singles after making $102k copies sales. By the end of the year, the album sold over 791k copies and became the ninth-best-selling album of the year. It was certified platinum six times by the British Phonographic Industry.

After the hit of his first album, Sheeran wrote more than 120 songs over 3 years. In June 2014, he released his second studio album named, ‘’x’’ (multiply sign). The album contained the tracks produced by Pharrell Williams, Benny Blanco and Rick Rubin. The album later ranked #1 on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Album Chart.

On 24th September 2014, Sheeran released one of the most popular songs of his career, Thinking Out Loud as the album’s third single. The song ranked #1 on the UK chart and #2 on the US Billboard Chart. According to Sheeran, the lyrics of that song was inspired by his then-girlfriend, Athina Andrelos.

Sheeran released his third studio album, ÷ (divide) on 3rd March 2017 after three years of hard work and dedication. The album ranked number one in major markets of the world including the UK, the US, Germany, Australia, and Canada among others. It became one of the fastest-selling albums by a male solo artist of the UK with over 672k sales only in the first week. It also listed as the third fastest-selling album in the UK chart history after Adele’s 25 and Oasis’ Be Here Now.

Sheeran released his two singles from ÷, Shape of You and Castle on the Hill in January 2017. The two songs are one of the top hit songs till date. The songs were ranked #1 and #2 on the UK Single Charts. After the hit, he became the first artist in the history to take the first and second spot in the UK Single Charts with new songs. Later, the songs hit #1 and #2 on the German Single Charts, and ARIA Single Charts (first time in the history of Australia). The songs also hit #1 and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The same year, he released his fourth single, ’Perfect’ and the same track as a joint venture with Beyonce titled Perfect Duet. The song hit #1 on both the UK Single Chart and the US Billboard Chart. Sheeran collaborated with Taylor Swift in End Game for which he was nominated for various awards.

On 4th December 2017, Sheeran was named most streamed artist of Spotify (a podcast, music and video streaming service) with 6.3 billion streams. Spotify named his album biggest of the year, streamed 3.1 billion times, and the top song “Shape of You,” with 1.4 billion streams.

Sheeran’s song, Shape of You hit #1 on Adult Pop Songs chart in 2018. The same year, the song became the bestselling single of 2017 in the UK and the US.

Acting Career

Ed Sheeran was interested in acting from the early age. Sheeran auditioned for a TV show, Britannia High in 2008 which gave him a personal ultimatum. He failed the audition and focused on his music afterward. In an interview with Edinburgh news he stated,

‘’I wanted to be an actor at one point. I auditioned for a programme called Britannia High back in the day as an actor. At that point I was like, if get this I’ll stop the music and be an actor and if I don’t get this I’ll stop acting and be a musician. I wasn’t really serious doing music at the time, and then when I didn’t get in I was just kinda like ‘screw it’ I’ll start singing properly.’’

Sheeran debuted TV world with a cameo appearance in Shortland Street in 2014. He then appeared in numbers of series like- Undateable, Home and Away, The Bastard Executioner, and Jumpers for Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium among others.

Sheeran also appeared in American fantasy drama series, Game of Thrones in an episode ‘’Dragonstone.’’ He worked in the series with Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams and Peter Dinklage among others. As of 2018, he voiced a character in American animated series, The Simpsons by Matt Groening.

Ed Sheeran Personal Life

Ed Sheeran is unmarried and has no children. Sheeran is currently engaged to his girlfriend, who might soon turn into his wife, Cherry Seaborn, a hockey player. The couple announced their engagement via Instagram by posting a picture together with a caption,

‘’Got myself a fiancée just before New Year. We are very happy and in love, our cats are chuffed as well XX.’’

As per the caption, the pair engaged before the new year, but Sheeran is yet to reveal the exact date. They knew each other since their childhood but started dating only after 2015 when he invited Seaborn to Taylor Swift’s 4th of July party. Before dating each other, they were good friends and attended the same high school.

Updated: 

The famous singer, Sheeran is married as of 2019. He tied the knot to his girlfriend turned wife Cherry in 2018 and henceforth are inseparable.

Past Affairs

Sheeran also dated Athina Andrelos, in 2014. He credited Andrelos for the song, Thinking Out Loud as she was the inspiration behind it. The couple dated for a year and eventually broke up in 2015.

Sheeran was also in a relationship with Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer, and songwriter in 2012. He credited Nesbitt for the songs, Nina and Photograph as she was the inspiration behind it.

In early 2000, Sheeran was rumored to be dating Ellie Goulding, English singer, and songwriter. It was rumored that the couple broke up after Ellie cheated on him with Niall Horan (One Direction member). She even clarified the buzz by stating,

‘’I did go on a few dates with Niall, but I was never in a relationship with Ed. I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing.’’

According to her, they had never dated. However, Sheeran released a bitter break-up track, Don’t which was supposed to be for his ex-girlfriend who allegedly cheated on him. In an interview to The Sun he stated,

‘’ I got over the anger the moment I wrote the song. It’s a song that came at the time that I needed to write. That’s the end of it.’’

It could be just a baseless rumor about their relationship as Sheeran has never disclosed the name of the girl.

Claire was the first girlfriend of Sheeran. He dated her when he was 13. Sheeran even wrote some songs for her in his first collection of work, Spinning Man.

‘’In 2004, I made my very first album, Spinning Man, named after a picture that my dad had. I burnt the CDs myself and made the covers. There were 14 songs and they were all songs that rhymed. One lyric went: ‘I’m a typical average teen if you know what I mean.’ There are probably 20 copies of Spinning Man in existence and I have 19 of them. I don’t want anyone else to get hold of a copy. Most of the songs were about a girl called Claire. She was my first love when I was 13. It was a very innocent love and we only ever held hands, but it lasted a fair amount of time. Then came my first devastating break-up. Looking back, it really wasn’t that bad, but at the time it was soul-shattering. When she left me, I wrote a lot of songs off the back of it – my first love songs.’’

After some time, the couple broke up for some unknown reasons which devastated him.

In October 2017, Sheeran was injured in a bike accident in Windsor, Berkshire. He broke his right wrist and elbow. He revealed the accident via Instagram with a caption,

‘’I’ve had a bit of a bicycle accident and I’m currently waiting for some of my upcoming shows. Please stay tuned for further news. Ed x.’’

Sheeran has over 60 colorful tattoos which relate to his career and personal life. Some of his art includes:

• A tattoo of a paw print, his first tattoo.
• A big tattoo of a lion in his chest, designed after England’s football team logo.
• A tattoo of a koala climbing tree.
• A tattoo of puss in boots that indicate his song, Wake Me Up where he talked about Shrek.
• A puzzle piece tattoo for his friend. He even left a small space for his future wife.
• A penguin tattoo that indicates his and Harry Styles’ friendship.
• A tattoo of lyrics, ‘’everything that happens is from now on’’ from Bon Iver’s song in his handwriting.
• A tattoo of a snowflake, to remember his tour with Snow Patrol.
• A tattoo of Teddy Bear symbolized his childhood nickname, Teddy.
• A tattoo of a tree on his right arm which shows his loves towards his family.
• A tattoo with a word, RED to show his support towards Taylor Swift’s album, RED.
• A tattoo of the mother and child from his mother’s favorite artist, Henri Matisse.
• A tattoo of ‘’I should ink my skin with your name’’ from his song, Wake Me Up.
• The tattoo of angel wings and the lyrics, ‘’It’s Too Cold Outside For Angels To Fly’’ from the song, The A-Team.
• A Heinz Tomato Ketchup tattoo reflects his love for ketchup.
• The tattoos of play, pause, stop and rewind reflects his love for music.
• A tattoo of Damien Rice’s autograph to 11-year-old Ed.
• The three boxing gloves tattoos show his 3 sold-out shows at Madison square garden.
• A phoenix tattoo symbolizes Hope.
• Festina Lente tattoo means hurry slowly which was a phrase passed by his uncle to him.
• A Canadian maple leaf to show love to his fans.
• A Kool Guy with an arrow tattoo designed by John Mayer.
• A little-broken love heart tattoo with no entry sign from his song; Hearts Don’t Break Around Here.
• A tattoo with words, Lads on Tour, to remember his tour with Rixton.
• A spectacles tattoo to mark the day he got his first pair of glass.
• A kiwi bird tattoo, reminding the tour of New Zealand.
• Inked Prince, to remind him of the tour with Rizzle Kicks in Philadelphia.

Apart from this some of his unseen tattoos include:

• Blinky –a three-eyed- fish from The Simpsons (series).
• Cherry Tree- for his song, Perfect.
• Shark- designed by Damien Hirst.
• School logo, English Tea, Smiley and Ducky among others.

Awards and Nominations

Ed Sheeran was nominated by more than 100 prestigious awards and won some of them. Sheeran’s winning awards include:

• 2011 = Q Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) and You Need Me (song), I Don't Need You (song).
• 2011 = Urban Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2012 = BRIT Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice.
• 2012 = Ivor Novello Awards for The A-Team(song).
• 2012 = Urban Music Awards for Watchtower (song).
• 2013 = BMI London Awards for The A-Team (song).
• 2013 = Nickelodeon UK Kids’ Choice Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2013 = Teen Choice Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2014 = BBC Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2014 = BMI London Awards for The A-Team (song), Everything Has Changed (song), Lego House (song)and Little Things (song).
• 2014 = Danish GAFFA Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) and x (album).
• 2014 = Norway GAFFA Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist), x (album) and I See Fire(song).
• 2014 = Sweden GAFFA Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2014 = MTV Video Music Awards for Sing (song).
•  2014 = Premios 40 Principles for x (album).
• 2014 = Q Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2014 = Radio Disney Music Awards for Everything Has Changed (song).
• 2014 = Teen Choice Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) and Sing (song).
• 2014 = Telehit Awards for x (album).
• 2014 = World Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice.
• 2014 = Young Hollywood Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = American Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = BRIT Awards for x (album)and Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = Echo Awards for x (album).
• 2015= iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards for Thinking Out Loud (song) twice.
• 2015 = Ivor Novello Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = JIM Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) and x (album).
• 2015 = MTV Europe Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice.
• 2015 = NRJ Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice.
• 2015 = People’s Choice Awards for x (album) and Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = Radio Disney Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = Swiss Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2015 = Teen Choice Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice and Thinking Out Loud (song).
• 2016 = Echo Awards for x (album).
• 2016 = Grammy Awards for Thinking Out Loud (song) twice.
• 2016 = People’s Choice Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2016 = Radio Disney Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2017 = Goldene Kamera Awards.
• 2017 = iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2017 = Lunas del Auditorio Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2017 = MTV Europe Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2017 = MTV Video Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).
• 2017 = MTV Video Music Awards Japan for Shape of You (song).
• 2017 = NRJ Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist) twice and Shape of You(song).
• 2017 = Teen Choice Awards for Shape of You (song).
• 2017 = Telehit Awards for Shape of You (song).
• 2017 = Melon Music Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist).

Some of Sheeran’s 2018 awards nominations include:

• BRIT Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist), ÷ and Shape of You (song).
• Danish GAFFA Awards for Ed Sheeran (artist), Divide (song), Castle on the Hill (song), Galway Girl (song), Perfect (song)and Shape of You (song).
• Gaygalan Awards for Shape of You (song).
• Grammy Awards for Shape of You (song) and ÷ (album)
• Global Awards for Shape of You (song) and Ed Sheeran (artist).
• iHeartRadio Music Awards for Shape of You (song), Perfect (song) and Touch (song).
• TEC Awards for ÷, and Shape of You (song).

His other nominations include 4Music Video Honours, ARIA Music Awards, Billboard Latin Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, BT Digital Music Awards, BreakTudo Awards, and MOBO Awards among others.

Also, Sheeran got a royal honor and as he became the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 7th December 2017, from the hands of Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in London.

Ed Sheeran Net Worth

Ed Sheeran has an estimated net worth of $110 million which he accumulated from his numerous hit songs and albums.

Sheeran also earns much from his albums and songs by selling numbers of copies in the prominent markets:

• + = 1.9 million copies in the UK and 1.21 million copies in the US.
• x = 5 million copies worldwide.
• ÷ = over 3 million copies worldwide.
• Thinking Out Loud = 1.2 million copies in the UK and 5.6 million copies in the US.
• Shape Of You = over 2.5 million copies in the US and 184 million copies in the UK.
• Perfect = over 1.3 million in the US and over 1 million copies in the UK.

Sheeran earns $2.1 million- $33.4 million yearly from his self-titled YouTube channel. The channel has over 27 million subscribers.  

He earns a massive amount from his tours. His tour raked in over $109. Whereas, he makes a profit of $571k from each gig. As per Nathan Cable Touring LLP, Sheeran pocketed $5.7 in 2017 in spite only doing ten gigs.

Sheeran bought a mansion in Suffolk, England for $1.1 million in 2012. He then bought another house near it for $558k.  In 2016, he bought two properties for over $1.1 million.

Sheeran has a collection of luxury cars like

Charities and Donation

Where most of the celebrities donate to the lower class people, Ed Sheeran has been raising funds for street sex workers. He rose almost $50k to help those people.

Sheeran gave away his clothes in charities. He as an ambassador for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, he donated bags of clothes to the St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop. Also, he gave away his eight bags of clothes including eight clothes which he wore in the 2015 Grammy Awards. His tartan shirt was also auctioned online to raise some funds for the hospice.

In 2014, Sheeran joined, Turn2us, a No Cold Homes campaign by the UK charity. He along with other celebrities like Jeremy Irons, Hugh Laurie, and Helen Mirren among others donated winter clothes to the needy people.

In 2017, Sheeran along with other UK artist like Ozzy Osburne, Liam Gallagher, and Jeremy Corby among others appeared in the episode of Google box. They became part of Cancer Research UK’s Stand Up to Cancer fundraising campaign.

Ed Sheeran: Body Measurement 

• Height = 5 feet 8 inches
• Age = 28

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