Jessie Ware

Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer.

Ware was born at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith, London, on 15 October 1984.

She was raised in Clapham, London.

She is the daughter of Helena (née Keell, usually called Lennie ), a social worker, and John Ware, a BBC Panorama reporter, who divorced when she was 10.

She is the younger sister of English actress Hannah Ware.

Her mother was supportive in her early musical career and Ware considers her to be "her hero", saying "She brought up my sister, brother and me with so much love and fun and always told me I could do anything I want."

Ware's mother is Jewish and she was raised in the faith.

Ware was educated at Alleyn's School, a co-educational independent school in Dulwich in South London, where she was a schoolmate of Florence Welch, Jack Peñate, and Felix White of the Maccabees.

She then attended the University of Sussex, where she graduated with a degree in English literature.

After her studies, Ware briefly worked as a journalist at The Jewish Chronicle, did sports journalism at The Daily Mirror and worked behind the scenes at TV company Love Productions.

There, she was a colleague of Erika Leonard, otherwise known as E. L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey.

In the years prior to releasing her first solo album, Ware did backing vocals at live shows for Jack Peñate (who took her on tour in the U.S.) and Man Like Me.

Ware said she learned a lot during her time with Jack Peñate: "Performing with him was really good training, because I got to learn all about how other people do it – I was able to perform live without the pressure of being a lead singer. It gave me a taste of what to expect, and it prepared me for what I'm doing now."

One of Peñate's bandmates, Tic, first introduced Ware to SBTRKT; Ware and SBTRKT went on to collaborate on "Nervous" (2010).

She consequently met Sampha, then known as SBTRKT's main collaborator.

They created "Valentine" together, which was released on a special edition, heart-shaped vinyl by Young Turks in 2011.

"Valentine" was partly inspired by James Blake's song "The Wilhelm Scream" and based on their own personal experiences in love.

The music video for "Valentine" was directed by Marcus Söderlund.

"Nervous", "Valentine" and an additional collaboration with DJ Joker ("The Vision") led Ware to a record deal with PMR Records.

She also featured on Ceremonials, the 2011 album by Florence and the Machine in which her good friend Florence Welch is lead singer.

On 14 October 2011, Ware released her debut solo single "Strangest Feeling" on limited 10" purple vinyl, although the song did not chart on the UK Singles Chart.

She came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Devotion (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and produced the single "Wildest Moments".

On 20 August 2012, Ware released her debut album Devotion, which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart.

The album's lead single "Running" was released on 24 February 2012.

"110%" was released as the album's second single on 13 April, peaking at number 61 in the United Kingdom.

"Wildest Moments" was released as the album's third single on 29 June, peaking at number 46 in the United Kingdom.

"Night Light" was released as the fourth single on 24 August.

Devotion was announced as a nominee for the prestigious Mercury Prize that year.

Ware toured in the United Kingdom in the early part of March 2013, supported by Laura Mvula, starting with Cambridge, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol and ending in London.

The United Kingdom tour was followed by a European tour in the second half of March 2013 and a US tour in April 2013.

In the summer of 2013, Ware played many festivals all over the world, and at the end of 2013, Jessie went on tour in the United States again.

Her second studio album, Tough Love (2014), reached number nine in the UK and produced the singles "Tough Love" and "Say You Love Me".

Ware's second album, Tough Love, was released on 6 October 2014.

Ware began writing the album earlier that year.

Her third studio album, Glasshouse (2017), reached number seven in the UK.

In 2018, Ware began co-hosting the Table Manners podcast alongside her mother Lennie.

Ware pivoted to a disco influenced sound for her fourth studio album, What's Your Pleasure? (2020), which was released to critical acclaim, reached number three in the UK, and produced the songs "Spotlight", "Save a Kiss" and "Remember Where You Are".

Her most recent album, That! Feels Good! (2023), produced the song "Free Yourself" and reached number three in the UK, as well as peaking at number sixteen in the Top Album Sales chart in the US.

Ware has been nominated for a total of seven Brit Awards including one for Best New Artist and four for British Female Solo Artist.

She is also a two-time Mercury Prize nominee.