One Direction: Louis Tomlinson tattoos

Louis William Tomlinson (born Louis Troy Austin, December 24, 1991) is a member of One Direction along with Harry Styles,Liam Payne, and Niall Horan. He is the oldest member of the group.

Louis released his debut solo single, Just Hold On, on December 10, 2016.

Early Life

Tumblr lq2orkuR2E1qgsmkvo1 500 — Louis and Lottie (Charlotte) Tomlinson.

Louis was born in Doncaster,South Yorkshire, England to Troy Austin and Johannah Deakin. His father left his mother when Louis was just ten days old. When Johannah remarried, Louis took on his stepdad Mark Tomlinson's name^[1]. Louis has five younger half-sisters and a younger half-brother by his mother: Charlotte(Lottie), Félicité (Fizzy), twins Daisy and Phoebe, and twins Doris and Ernest. He has one younger half-sister, Georgia, by his father. Mark and Johannah divorced in 2011. Johannah then remarried to Daniel Deakin in 2014. Louis was a sixth form student at Hall Cross School, a state comprehensive school, and previously a pupil at The Hayfield School. While he was a student at Hall Cross, Louis starred in several Scholastic musical productions at this school, including Grease, which sparked his interest in performing.

Musical Career

Main article: One Direction history

Early Beginnings

Louis appeared as an extra in the 2006 film If I Had You. His mother worked as a chaperone on UK TV show Fat Friends, which James Corden also worked on^[2]. Corden has spoken about spending time between takes playing football with Louis, as he was one of the only kids on set.

On March 26, 2010, when he was 18 years old, Louis auditioned for The X Factor with "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's. It was his third time auditioning for the reality talent show, and his first time proceeding to the televised judges stage (contestants are first required to audition for producers in order to perform for the celebrity judges). Louis received three out of three "yes"s from the judges, and qualified to the next round. He revealed in One Direction's 2013 concert film This Is Us that he was not happy with his audition and felt it was "terrible". He also revealed he had hoped he would be put into a group, as he did not think he was a strong enough soloist. At bootcamp, Louis sang Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" before being eliminated as a solo artist, but ultimately allowed to continue after being placed into One Direction. Louis's mother took the first ever photo of One Direction as a formed group, on July 23, 2010. One Direction placed third in the overall competition, signed a recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco Music soon after, and released five best-selling albums between 2011 and 2015.

Solo Career Developments

Record Label Imprint

In April 2015, it was announced Louis would be starting his own record label, an imprint of Simon Cowell's Syco label.^[3] Louis said of the business venture: "To be given the opportunity to potentially give new artists a platform is an incredible feeling. I hope to sign some really exciting new artists down the line". It was also announced that he had signed former X-Factor contestant Jack Walton. Through 2016, Louis began preparing to launch an as yet unnamed pop-punk girl band, and cross-promoted English independent group High Tyde.

New Representation

On May 31, 2016, Louis parted ways with former management group Modest Management, and signed with James Grant Group, a public relations/management agency. This was confirmed by The Media Eye and by James Grant Group themselves, who posted a profile for Louis on their official website^[4].

Talent Show Judging

In November 2015, Louis was a guest judge for Simon Cowell on The X Factor UK. In March 2016, Louis confirmed he would not return as a permanent judge, despite media speculation. On May 3rd Louis filmed a guest judging spot for the final season of America's Got Talent, alongside Simon Cowell, which aired on July 20, 2016.

Solo Music

On December 8, 2016, a preview of Louis's debut solo single, Just Hold On, surfaced online. The track was produced by DJ/dance producer Steve Aoki. Louis co-wrote the song as a tribute to his mother,Johannah Deakin. Just Hold On was officially released on December 10, 2016 and reached #1 on iTunes in 40 countries. Louis and Aoki debuted the song on The X Factor's grand final on the same day. The single debuted at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, #1 on the Scottish Charts, #54 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #25 on the Australian ARIA Charts. It was a top 10 single in ten countries and acquired over 60 million UK Spotify streams in its first month of release. On January 12 2017, Louis revealed via Instagram that he was collaborating with American pop-EDM singer-songwriter Rozes. On January 20, the British Phonographic Industry announced Louis had won his first solo bpi Award as "Just Hold On" had gone silver (200,000 copies sold)^[5].

Other

Louis and Liam lent their voices to a Family Guy episode cameo, which aired on May 15th. On April 29th, Louis attended the opening of Intrigue Nightclub in Las Vegas. On May 28th, Louis and girlfriendDanielle, attended the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco. He participated alongside Niall in Soccer Aid's 2016 charity match on June 5th. On July 25th, Louis attended an EA Games FIFA event, playing the new game alongside footballer David Luiz. On October 25th, Louis attended Lottie Tomlinson's beauty collection launch party, along with Danielle Campbell, Sophia Smith and Lou Teasdale. On October 31st, Louis attended the 2016 Pride Of Britain Awards, with Campbell and Teasdale. Simon Cowell was also in attendance. On December 7th, Louis's mother Johannah Deakin lost her battle with leukaemia. On January 20 2017, Louis was featured on Debrett’s list of the 500 most influential people in 2017. British DJ Digital Farm Animals confirmed he had recorded a song with Louis in February 2017.

Personal Life

Charity

Outside of music, Louis supports many charities. In particular, he has worked closely over the years with the Eden Dora Trust, which helps children suffering from Encephalitis. In 2015, Louis participated in a charity football match, held a Cinderella ball for terminally ill children in collaboration with charity Believe In Magic, in which he raised over 7 million dollars, and became the official patron for the Stacey Mowie Appeal. In January 2016, a journalist interviewed a family Louis had worked closely with, where they praised him for his admirable dedication to providing for them and their terminally ill son.^[6] Louis often leaves social media updates on the condition of the terminally ill children he keeps contact with.

Football

Louis is a part-time contract-based football player for the Doncaster Rovers. He played various matches throughout 2012-2015. He played on England's side in the Soccer Aid All Stars charity match for UNICEF on June 5, 2016.^[7] It was announced on May 9th that Niall had joined the opposing team. England won 3-2 and over 5.39 million pounds was raised for UNICEF.

Fake Relationships

Tumblr lh92vwnWhw1qe7at3 — Louis and Hannah

Hannah Walker

Louis began dating Hannah Walker on March 18, 2010^[8], shortly before he began competing on The X Factor. Walker attended Hall Cross Academy with Louis, and they met through the school's production of Grease. Louis and Hannah are believed to have split in July 2011, after the Daily Mail published a statement saying "All the lads are now young, free and single to concentrate on recording their debut album and promote their new single.”^[9] Louis's final tweet to Hannah was in January 2011^[10].

Eleanor Calder

It is unconfirmed how Louis and Eleanor officially met but it has been said they were introduced to each other in 2011 by Harry. However, fans found out Eleanor went to university with the son of Harry MacGee, co-founder of One Direction's former management team, Modest Management. Louis and Eleanor's first public outing together was September 14 2011, to celebrate Niall's birthday. Louis confirmed they were dating in an October 2011 interview^[11]. People Magazine confirmed on March 21, 2015, that after four years, Eleanor and Louis had split up two weeks previously^[12]. Neither have publicly spoken about the split. In May 2015, Louis confirmed the break up on James Corden's The Late Late Show. Eleanor is still friends with Liam's ex-girlfriend Sophia Smith.

Briana Jungwirth

Louis met American former stylist Briana Jungwirth sometime in early 2015.^[13] Based on June 2015 photographs of Louis and Briana's family visiting the chimp featured in 2014's "Steal My Girl" video, the two likely met through a relative of Briana's, who is the chimp's carer. Louis was photographed partying with Briana once in February 2015, then three times in the first week of May 2015^[14]. On July 14, 2015 People Magazine announced Louis was expecting his first child with Briana. The announcement stated the pair had never dated and were just good friends. Louis confirmed the pregnancy on August 4, 2015, after being congratulated during a live interview with Good Morning America, answering with "Thank you. It's a really exciting time, so...I'm buzzing". In September 2015, Briana attended six One Direction shows in London, while 5 months pregnant. From November 2015 to February 2016, Louis blacklisted all questions pertaining to the pregnancy^[15]^[16]. Louis and Briana welcomed a baby boy, Freddie Reign Tomlinson, on January 21, 2016. Louis confirmed the news via Twitter saying, "I'm pleased to say my baby son was born yesterday. He is healthy and pretty amazing. I'm very happy!!".^[17] Louis has based himself in Briana's hometown Los Angeles since the birth. Louis and Briana appear to have a volatile relationship, with Louis only allowed minimal visitations, and with family members clashing publicly numerous times^[18]^[19]^[20]. On June 29, 2016 it was reported Louis would be taking Briana to court in order to obtain joint custody of Freddie^[21]. The report was confirmed when Louis's publicists asked for privacy, stating "Louis appreciates, respects and values his relationship with the media and we hope he and his son are afforded the same respect on this matter."^[22]

Danielle Campbell

Louis dated American actress Danielle Campbell for a year. She is best known for her role as Davina Claire on The CW's The Originals. Danielle followed Louis on Twitter on September 7, 2015 and Louis followed her on Instagram on October 11.^[23] A friend of Danielle's posted a selfie with Danielle and Louis to Instagram on November 22nd. The pair were photographed together again on December 6th, sitting next to each other at a milkshake place, sparking dating rumors. Louis spent time with Danielle in Chicago, her hometown, from December 18th, till December 22nd. Louis got several tattoos with Danielle's brother while he was there, eventually posting a photo of his butt tattooing on Instagram. Danielle attended Louis's New Years Eve party on December 31, 2015. The two were pictured kissing on January 6, 2016, while on a ski trip with friends, in France^[24]. Danielle met Louis's family in March 2016. The couple vacationed together in Mexico throughout May, and Danielle accompanied Louis to London for his Soccer Aid match in June. Despite Briana Jungwirth reportedly not wanting Danielle around she and Louis's son, Freddie, Danielle was photographed holding the baby at a beach on July 12, 2016. Shortly after the photos were released, on July 15, Jungwirth tweeted "You can pretend all you want but you will NEVER be my baby son's mother^[25]". On August 17th, Danielle conducted an interview with Entertainment Tonight where she stated she admired Briana and Louis's co-parenting and spoke happily of her relationship with Louis. Danielle was in attendance for Louis's first solo performance on X Factor on December 10, 2017 and helped celebrate his 25th birthday on December 24. Louis and Danielle split amicably in early January 2017.

Controversies

2010

In unexplained circumstances, during One Direction's time on X Factor, Louis was mysteriously sent home by producers for a week. Police were also called one week when it appeared Louis had gone missing, but it was found he had gone home to see family without informing anyone.^[26]

2012

After two years of speculation, Louis began vehemently denying he was in a relationship with bandmateHarry. An interview was published where Louis reasoned that the speculation was ruining his friendship with Harry, and in September 2012, tweeted a fan saying "How's this? Larry is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard. I'm happy, why can't you accept that?"^[27] The tweet upset many fans, with some refusing to believe it was him. Louis has never publicly spoken about the tweet.

2013

Louis was involved in numerous Twitter fights with members of boy band The Wanted. The band had previously made fun of Harry Styles after he was overcome with stage fright during a performance, and both bands remained at odds ever since. Zayn Malik and Liam, and eventually Eleanor all came to Louis's defence during a particularly nasty 2013 spat, in which one member of The Wanted appeared to imply Louis was gay and should come out^[28]. In an interview with an LGBT chat show, the same member once again said Louis would be the first member of One Direction to come out. In 2015, The Wanted split up and blamed their rivalry with One Direction as the reason they called it quits.

2014

In May, a video was leaked by The Daily Mail showing Louis and Zayn smoking cannabis while in Peru. Zayn can be heard criticizing One Direction's official merchandise, saying both the band and the fans are sick of shallow products solely catering solely to a young audience, and wishing they could do more artistic ventures. Louis can allegedly be heard uttering several racial slurs throughout the video. Neither Louis or Zayn have ever publicly addressed the video but Liam took to Twitter a few days after it surfaced to apologize for them, saying they were immature. In 2015, Louis jokingly denied ever getting high on drugs during an interview with Jonathan Ross. A fellow guest on the show noted that because of their media training, the band is not allowed to admit to controversial acts like smoking illegal substances.

In November, Louis lashed out on Twitter at a journalist who wrote an article about the rainbow Apple logo shirt he had recently worn^[29]. The journalist interpreted this as a sign of support for Apple CEO Tim Cook who had come out as gay the previous week. Louis appeared to interpret the article as speculating his sexuality and tweeted "I am in fact straight!" despite the article not stating anything about his sexuality.

2015

After Zayn's departure from One Direction, Louis became involved in two Twitter fights with Zayn's friend, producer Naughty Boy. Insults were exchanged and Zayn tweeted Louis asking "Remember when you had a life instead of making bitchy comments about mine?" Louis did not respond to Zayn's tweet. The fights made worldwide headlines^[30]. Zayn cut all ties with Naughty Boy in July. In November 2015, Louis strongly hinted in various Made in the A.M. promo interviews that he and Zayn were not on talking terms, and that he was distancing himself from the band. In January 2016, Zayn liked a picture of Louis with his son Freddie and when questioned by media said they were not friends at the moment but liking the tweet was the least he could do. He did not, however, like Louis's official tweet, but a tweet from a fan's account. On December 9, after the passing of Louis's mother Johannah Deakin was announced, Zayn tweeted his sympathies to Louis, saying "love you bro! All of your family is in my prayers. proud of your strength and know your mum is too x." On January 17 2017, in an interview with SiriusXM, Louis addressed his feud with Zayn subsiding, stating: "It's a strange feeling but it's nice. I think we've got to a point now, a lot of us have spoken recently, me and Zayn have spoken recently. It's gotten to a point where you can be happy for each other and things have happened in the past, of course, but you know, it's great. His first song was an absolute smash and a great song, so yeah, it's nice.^[31]"

The public nature of Louis's 2015 relationship with Danielle Campbell caused some controversy. Louis was expecting a child with Briana Jungwirth when he began to publicly be seen with Danielle. Various media outlets reported Jungwirth was upset with Louis for openly dating someone else, even though they were never a couple themselves, after she posted a video link on her Instagram to a blogger discussing their personal struggles, and captioned it with "I felt the need to share it with all of you. I’ve found a lot of things Jaclyn says in this video relatable and important". Briana's father commented on the situation to The Sun, stating "Sure I wish he stepped up and made it public that he was going to be a father to Briana’s baby. Sure I wish they grew their relationship together, but he will always be the child’s father. This is a difficult time for Briana. This baby should be the focus here.”^[32]

2016

In February, it was reported that Briana had temporarily banned Louis from seeing their son Freddie, claiming that his girlfriend Danielle was interfering with crucial mother-son bonding time. A custody battle ensued with a temporary settlement allegedly put in place a few days later. As of April 2016, these rumors have been laid to rest by a rep from TMZ saying the story was untrue, despite TMZ breaking it in the first place^[33]. Briana's cousin, Ashley, inadvertently confirmed tension regarding Danielle, calling it "disrespectful" that Louis continued to publicly date her. She also sold her story to tabloid Now Magazine, stating her family was "hurt" when Louis moved on.