Born on July 13, 1988, Tulisa Contostavlos is best known for being one of the original members of U.K. urban pop/hip-hop act N-Dubz. Contostavlos formed the band alongside her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer in 2000. The band was together for over a decade and released three studio albums during that time. Wildly popular, the group would regularly sell out arena tours and hit the upper reaches of the U.K. pop chart with such tracks as "I Need You" and "We Dance On." Despite all their success, the group members decided to go on hiatus in 2011 to focus on solo projects. In 2011 Tulisa became a judge on the U.K. version of The X Factor along with Kelly Rowland, Gary Barlow, and Louis Walsh for the series' eighth series. She proved popular and charismatic among viewers and successfully mentored her act Little Mix to the winner's crown. It was the first time a girl band had won the show. In 2012, she released two singles off her debut album, The Female Boss. The singles "Young" and "Live It Up" reached number one and number 11, respectively, in the U.K. chart. Her autobiography, Honest: My Story So Far, was published in late 2012. ~ Aneet Nijjar