Paloma Faith’s real age and reason she lied about it for years
Paloma Faith previously lied about her age until one fan forced her to be truthful by sending her birth certificate to Wikipedia.
Singer Paloma Faith previously admitted to keeping her age a secret from fans and bosses for one reason. The star, who is now 43, knocked four years off her actual age when first starting out in the music industry.
Revealing all back in 2021, while writing in the i Paper, the singer explained: "I always knew that my age was going to be an issue – especially as a female artist. I was 27 when I put my first record out, but I told my label I was 23. I looked quite young, so I could get away with it.
"I read a lot of articles about musicians at the time and it seemed like every piece about KT Tunstall would imply that she was quite old, even though she was only 27. That really affected me and I remember thinking 'I want to be judged for my music, not my age.'"
Sharing why she decided to ultimately be honest about her age, she added: "My plan had been to get to a certain level of success and then have a conversation about my age, but I was forced to do it sooner because someone kept changing my Wikipedia page.
"Every time I set my age to 23, they would change it back to 27. Eventually, they provided my birth certificate to Wikipedia so I was blocked from editing my own page – it really brought home to me how much my age was going to be a factor in my career."
Don't miss: Benedict Cumberbatch’s favourite songs – and surprising band topping his Spotify
Don't miss: The Kooks arena tour tickets and how to buy them this week
Don't miss: Mary Berry said Rod Stewart's 1975 classic is her favourite song ever
The mum of two also hoped that her story could become a clarion call, saying that it was time to stop judging musicians by their age.
Her age was not the only problem that she encountered while starting out as a singer. Paloma recently discussed a disconcerting incident she encountered while attempting to make her mark on the U.S. music industry, involving an insensitive comment from a music executive.
The executive, who was of African American descent, bluntly told her that she would not achieve success in the States with her current music video for "Only Love Can Hurt Like This," which featured her kissing a Black man.
Sharing the unsettling experience on her podcast, Mad, Sad and Bad, she talked about the male lead in the video being a dear friend from Uganda who had an inspiring journey as a refugee.
