Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born 5 May 1988 in Tottenham, north London, England, to Englishwoman Penny Adkins and Welshman Mark Evans on 5 May 1988. Evans walked out when Adele was two, leaving her 20-year-old mother to raise her single-handedly, for which Adele has still not forgiven him. She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices. Adele has cited the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today". Adele impersonated the Spice Girls at dinner parties as a young girl. To make her look like English R&B and urban contemporary singer Gabrielle, her mother made an eye patch with sequins, which Adele later said was embarrassing. At the age of nine, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organiser, relocated to Brighton.

Two years later, she and her mother moved back to London; first to Brixton, and then to neighbouring district West Norwood, in south London. West Norwood is the subject for Adele's first record, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16. After moving to south London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child and Mary J. Blige.

Adele says that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched Pink perform at Brixton Academy. "It was the Missundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible".

Aged 14, Adele discovered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald by accident as she stumbled on the artists' CDs in the jazz section of her local music store and was struck by their appearance on the album covers. Adele states she "started listening to Etta James every night for an hour", and in the process was getting "to know my own voice". Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in May 2006, where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent even though at the time she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers.

It was reported in January 2012 that Adele was dating charity entrepreneur and Old Etonian Simon Konecki. In June 2012, Adele announced that she and Konecki were expecting a baby. Their son Angelo was born on 19 October 2012. The child is the first for Adele and the second for Konecki, who also has a daughter with his ex-wife. Adele and Konecki brought a privacy case against a UK-based photo agency that published paparazzi images of their son taken during family outings in 2013. Lawyers working on their behalf accepted damages from the company in July 2014.

Adele has been criticized by celebrities such as Karl Lagerfeld and Joan Rivers for her weight, but has gained the support of many others, by stating that she is happy with her weight and would only change if it affected her health or sex life.

Politically, Adele is a supporter of the Labour Party, despite in May 2011 having reportedly expressed views on taxation counter to those of the party. Born in Tottenham, she supports her hometown Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur. In April 2013, it was reported Adele had an estimated £30 million ($47.9m) fortune, making her the wealthiest young British musician under 30 years of age. In June 2013, Adele was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to music, and she received the award from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 19 December 2013.

Adele has performed in numerous charity concerts throughout her career. In July and November 2008, Adele performed at the Keep a Child Alive Black Ball in London and New York City respectively. On 17 September 2009, Adele performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for the VH1 Divas event, a concert to raise money for the Save The Music Foundation charity. On 6 December, Adele opened with a 40-minute set at John Mayer's 2nd Annual Holiday Charity Revue held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In 2011, Adele gave a free concert for Pride London, a registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London.

Adele has been a major contributor to MusiCares, a charity organization founded by the Grammys for musicians in need. In February 2009, Adele performed at the 2009 MusiCares charity concert in Los Angeles. In 2011 and 2012, Adele donated autographed items for auctions to support MusiCares.

When on tour, Adele requires all backstage visitors to donate a minimum charitable contribution of $20 for the UK charity Sands, an organization dedicated to "supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby and promoting research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives." During the UK and European leg of her Adele Live tour she collected $13,000 for the charity.

Adele live at The Tabernacle