Alesha Dixon is one of the hosts of Eurovision 2023, and has already made headline after she rapped during Monday night's semi-final.
The 44-year-old is singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She first started her career in band Mis-teeq, the R&B and hip-hop group reached chart topping success back in the noughties with numerous hit songs such as Scandalous and All I Want.
But the band split in 2005 and Alesha pursued her own solo music career, as well as winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2007, and later joining the judging panel for the show's seventh series. She also judged on shows such as Walk The Line and Australia's Got Talent.
READ MORE: Sun forecast to shine in Liverpool all day for Eurovision 2023 final
Most recently, the mum-of-two is most known for being a judge on Britain's Got Talent.
Alesha Dixon's difficult childhood
The 44-year-old was born in Hertfordshire to a Jamaican father, Marvin, and English mother, Beverly Harris. She has six half-siblings.
Alesha Dixon grew up in an ugly family situation that included chronic abuse. The Britain’s Got Talent star has been vocal about her traumatic experiences as a child of witnessing the abuse her mother suffered at the hands of a boyfriend.
Alesha was between eight and ten years old at the time of the attacks, however, she says the period in her life has made her a better mum, ‘shaping’ who she is. Speaking to Alice Liveing on the Give Me Strength podcast, Alesha said: “I want to make sure my children are never exposed to things that I saw."
Though always interested in music and dance, her dreams of pursuing a career in performance were not supported by her family, and she intended to focus on a career in sports studies while in school. However, after being approached by two different talent scouts, she decided to shift her focus to music and the rest they say is history.
Is Alesha Dixon married?
In 2005 she married Michael Harvey Jr. better known as MC Harvey or simply Harvey. He first came to fame in the early 2000s as a member of rap group So Solid Crew before then pursuing a solo career in 2008. In 2012, he was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother 10.
The couple divorced a year later in 2006. In 2017 she married her now husband Azuka Ononye. The couple have two daughters together, Azura Sienna, who was born in 2013 and Anaya Safiya, who was born in 2019.
Alesha Dixon and Eurovision
Alesha Dixon was was chatting to contestants who had already performed their songs when she showed off her own talents on Monday but kicked off with a rap.
She said: "Eurovision is back, we are in the UK."
The Mis-Teeq had the crowd cheering, she added: "In 2022, Kalush took the gold. The first rap group to win, yeah, they broke the mould. So raise your pink bucket hats in the air, I have got a Eurovision story that I really wanna share.
"Listen, Liverpool, let me hit you with the facts and I'll talk you through some really iconic acts. Greta Thunburg's mum in 2009, San Marino's Valentina performed four times, in the city of Kyiv, Sobral swept the board with the most points in history a contestant ever scored. Dana and Conchita, yeah, they really changed the game.
"Lordi and Maneskin, they put rock in the frame. As our souls reunite are you ready for a show? We're united by music, Eurovision let's go."
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