Welsh Female Singers

Known for her signature raspy voice and blonde locks, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler soared to fame with her Billboard-charting track It's a Heartache. The 3-time Grammy-nominated singer has previously also sung for the UK at Eurovision. She is also a philanthropist and invests in property, too.

Shirley Bassey is one of the most popular Welsh singers of all time. Blessed with an expressive voice, Shirley Bassey is renowned for recording the theme songs of popular James Bond movies, such as Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, and Goldfinger. In 2000, she was appointed a DBE for services to performing arts.

Charlotte Church is a Welsh actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, and television presenter. She achieved popularity after hosting her own chat show for Channel 4, The Charlotte Church Show. As a recording artist, Church has won many awards, including a Hollywood Reporters Young Star Award and Classical BRIT Award. She has also published an autobiography named Voice of an Angel.  

While Classic FM named her The Biggest Selling Classical Artist of the Century, Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins released 13 number-1 albums by age 23. Initially a singing teacher, Jenkins had also worked as a tour guide and a model. Her $10 million record deal with Warner Bros. was the biggest-ever in classical music.

Initially aspiring to be a classical singer, Aimee-Ffion Edwards had her first stint with showbiz on the show Wawffactor. As a teenager, she was the only girl in a rugby team. She is equally at ease playing a working-class mother in The Left Behind and a gypsy in Peaky Blinders.

Best known for hosting music shows on various BBC Radio networks, singer-songwriter Cerys Matthews had also previously established the Welsh band Catatonia. She also writes and presents documentaries and has been a reporter for the TV magazine The One Show. Her album Tir has been the best-selling Welsh album in a decade.

While she was catapulted to fame with the 90s’ pop group Steps, famous for hits such as 5,6,7,8, Lisa Scott-Lee later launched her solo career. She also ventured into reality TV, with the show Totally Scott-Lee and now works as a head teacher at a performing arts academy in Dubai.

While she began singing at age 13, Welsh singer Jemma Griffiths, better known as Jem, also earned a law degree, pushed by her lawyer father. Experimenting with both electronica and pop/rock, she created masterpieces such as They and Wish I. Her music has been featured in movies such as Monster-in-Law.

Welsh soprano Margaret Price was regarded as one of the greatest singers of her time. Starting her singing lessons at age 9, she won a scholarship to the Trinity School of Music at 15. Born with a leg deformity, she struggled with leg pain throughout her life. Post-retirement, she became a dog breeder.

Born to a Welsh opera singer, Judith Owen was never a stranger to music. A talented singer-songwriter in her own right, she is known for tracks such as Hand on My Heart, which was featured on the soundtrack of As Good As It Gets. She now co-owns a record label with her husband.

Welsh harpist and singer Georgia Ruth began training in the harp at age 7. A Cambridge alumna, she later became a regular on BBC Radio music shows. She has also participated in numerous music events all around the world, from Kolkata to Toronto. She is a supporter of Welsh independence.

Siân James had started participating in local music contests by age 4. The Welsh folk singer later learned the piano and the harp, besides earning a music degree from Bangor University. She has also been the lead vocalist for Bwchadanas, a band she formed with her university friends at Bangor.