Leona Lewis was once working as a Pizza Hut waitress to fund studio sessions before winning a £1million record deal.
The X Factor winner, who is celebrating her 37th birthday today, was struggling to secure a deal after leaving BRIT school so auditioned in front of the judges.
The Hackney-born star was a favourite from the start and won the ITV show by a landslide back in 2006, defeating Ray Quinn in the final, under the mentorship of Simon Cowell.
Her cover of Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This made it to Christmas number one, selling more copies than the rest of that week's top 40 combined, and she was immediately signed to Simon's Syco record label.
Since then she's sold over 35 million records worldwide, been nominated for six BRIT Awards and three Grammys and won two MOBO awards.
Her debut studio album Spirit became the fourth-best selling of the 2000s and lead single Bleeding Love spent seven weeks at UK number one.
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However, she announced her decision to ditch Simon and part ways with Syco in 2014 after falling out of love with the record label,
"Simon Cowell has been incredible but at the end of a day it’s a huge label now," she told The Independent at the time.
"I felt like at that stage all they were doing was holding me back from fulfilling my potential, to ask me to do a covers album was… there was no love in it.
"They weren’t giving me any choice. So no, I said, we’re done now. It’s all good, I’ve still got so much love but we’re done.
"Simon probably doesn’t even know what went on in that way, but I felt disrespected and I felt it was a very callous way to act when all I was trying to do was do what I loved. I was in limbo and that’s the worst place to be. You can’t leave me hanging on a string."
Leona landed a new record deal with Universal and later explained that she was tired of the delays in getting her music made because Simon was always busy.
"There’s no bad blood at all. Simon sent me a really lovely note the other week saying they miss me at the label," she added.
"There’s nothing but love there. He knew I had to leave. He was upset about it but it was time for something new so I’m excited about moving on and doing something different."
Last December, the singing sensation admitted the pair still have a "good" relationship despite splitting from his record company.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, Leona said: "It was [an amicable split] – we're still good, we keep in contact, he checks in on me, I check in on him.
"Throughout the show, he was definitely a real mentor and really involved in helping me with song choices, arrangements. He's been a big supporter."
She continued: "'[The X Factor was] such a huge platform… It was at the time when YouTube was starting to bubble up… the videos would go viral, it was crazy."
Leona also confessed that she thought it was the right decision to axe the X Factor despite it being a platform for many stars, including herself.
She admitted that she struggled with self-doubt after she was thrust into the spotlight following her victory and that the beauty standards expected in the industry left her mental health to suffer after finding fame.
Leona said: "It was bound to happen at some point and I feel like it was the right time.
"We are in a different day and age now, with streaming and all the different platforms that we are on — there is so much out there. Everything has to evolve and move on and we can’t stay static. We have to go with it and embrace it, it was time."
While Leona has had lots of success in her career, away from showbiz she began suffering from an array of ailments that led to her being diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease in 2017.
Hashimoto's is an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland and causes chronic fatigue, nausea and pain, which left Leona struggling with day to day life.
"I was feeling very sick and had chronic fatigue and these really bad pains in my neck and throat. I didn’t know what was going on. It was a pretty hard time," she wrote in an essay for Glamour.
Suspecting the illness was linked to her hectic lifestyle and exposure to chemicals used in beauty and hair products, she stopped straightening her hair and made numerous other lifestyle changes.
"When I was first diagnosed, I was absolutely devastated; I felt very scared and alone ," she said.
"I could hear my body telling me that I needed to slow down. I also started to feel tired during performances. I began taking medication but also turned to Ayurveda (my mum is a master herbalist) to help heal my body naturally.
"I just got to a point where I wanted to start over physically and emotionally. I started eating better and I stopped straightening my hair."
As for her personal life, Leona split from childhood sweetheart Lou Al-Chamaa in 2010 and then met choreographer and creative director Dennis Jauch on her Labyrinth tour.
In July 2019 she married the German dancer in a Tuscan vineyard, telling OK! Magazine before the wedding that Dennis is her "rock".
"We're so ready to do this. Dennis is the most kind, considerate person I've ever met," she gushed of her man, who popped the question during a holiday to Puerto Rico.
The couple have owned a series of multi-million properties and in November 2019 they sold their $2.25 million ranch in Glendale, California for a $3.7 million home in Los Angeles' famous Hidden Hills.
Showing her relationship with Simon Cowell is still strong, she sold the house to the music tycoon in 2020 and now lives in Studio City in a $2.6million mansion.
Leona had said in the past that she wasn't sure about having kids, once saying: "I do want children, but Dennis and I have also talked about adopting.
"My mum grew up in a children’s home. No one adopted her as a child and I would very much like to adopt. But I’m still figuring things out.
"If it was up to my husband, we would have had kids yesterday."
Fans were thrilled this month when Leona announced she was pregnant with a stunning picture of her bump.
"Can’t wait to meet you in the Summer," the X Factor winner penned as she posted the photograph on Instagram.
In the sweet snap she was wearing a tight-fitting black dress that beautifully highlights her blossoming bump.
A source had told The Sun: "Leona and Dennis are absolutely over the moon.
"They have passed the 12-week milestone and told their family and friends at the beginning of the year.
"They can’t wait to welcome their new arrival and to become a family of three."
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