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Jessica Louise Nelson (born 14 June 1991) is an English singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix, who were formed during the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. As part of Little Mix, Nelson achieved seventeen top-ten singles and five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2019, Nelson released a documentary titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, which focused on her struggles with body image, mental health and online bullying. It won the Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards and the Visionary Honour Award for Documentary of the Year. Nelson's private life and her departure from Little Mix in December 2020, have been the subject of media scrutiny in the UK. In October 2021, she released her debut single titled "Boyz", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, which was met with negative reception. It debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In April 2023, she released her follow-up single, "Bad Thing".
Nelson attended Jo Richardson Community School and Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College in Hornchurch, London. She also attended the Sylvia Young and Yvonne Rhodes Theatre Schools. Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, Nelson worked as a barmaid in Dagenham. In 2020, Nelson said that, as a child, she had non-speaking roles as an extra in About a Boy (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
Nelson released her documentary on BBC Three in 2019, titled Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out. The documentary was based on her experiences with body image and online bullying. It was BBC Three's top factual title since the channel moved online and on BBC One it was watched by 3.3 million viewers. The documentary won the Factual Entertainment Award at the 25th National Television Awards.
In December 2020, she announced her departure from the group due to prolonged issues with her mental health. She said: "I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard."
In December 2022, it was reported that Nelson had filmed a music video for a follow-up single titled "Cried Out", which was later shelved in favour of her second official solo single, "Bad Thing", released independently on 14 April 2023. Upon its release, Nelson received praise from the charity Women's Aid due to the song's themes of domestic abuse. The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. Nelson next planned to release "Cried Out" as her third single, but in July 2023, it was reported that the single was scrapped.
Nelson collaborated with Zion Foster on the single "Mine", which was released on 2 August 2024.
Nelson began dating Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, in 2012; they separated the following year. In 2014, she entered a relationship with Rixton lead singer, Jake Roche. They became engaged on 19 July 2015, but ended their relationship in November 2016. Nelson briefly dated Chris Clark in 2017, followed by a 16-month relationship with musician Harry James that concluded in November 2018. In January 2019, she began dating Love Island contestant Chris Hughes; they separated in April 2020.
Nelson entered a relationship with rapper Zion Foster in November 2022. In January 2025, Nelson and Foster announced that they were expecting twins. On 18 May 2025, she revealed via Instagram that their twin daughters had been born prematurely at 31 weeks and five days, following a high-risk pregnancy complicated by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. After several weeks in Neonatal nursing, Nelson stated in June 2025 that the twins had been discharged and were home. In September 2025, she announced that she and Foster had become engaged. In January 2026, she shared that their twins had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, and that they were unlikely to develop the ability to walk. Later that month after announcing their twins' diagnosis, Nelson and Foster's relationship reportedly ended.
Nelson has 15 , including a quote on her upper right arm: "Music is the strongest form of magic".
In June 2018, Nelson posted an image of herself on Instagram wearing her hair in dreadlocks. The photo was later deleted after she was criticised over accusations of cultural appropriation. In May 2021, Nelson was accused of "blackfishing" (a form of cultural appropriation). Her name trended on Twitter after some users realised that she is white, having previously believed that Nelson was a woman of colour. In 2021, after the release of "Boyz", Nelson faced criticism online for her appearance in the music video, with comments on her accent and darkened skin. This led to further accusations of blackfishing.
In November 2020, Little Mix's publicist stated that Nelson would take an extended break from the pop group for "private medical reasons". On 14 December 2020, Nelson announced her departure from Little Mix due to struggles with her mental health.
In August 2021, Nelson spoke in an interview about her time on The X Factor and criticised the show for the lack of support she received after being subjected to online abuse. In the interview she spoke about the eating disorder she had developed through extreme dieting during her time with Little Mix, and the panic attacks she would experience.
In August 2021, Nelson told The Guardian that since her first appearance on The X Factor with Little Mix she had been trolled about her physical appearance on social media. Although the group supported Nelson's frailties, she said that The X Factor should pair a therapist or psychologist with the coaches. Nelson underwent therapy, where she was told she had an eating disorder.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Little Mix began work on the "Sweet Melody" music video. Nelson had gained weight and did not feel fit for filming, deciding to go on a drastic diet without getting results. After she was hospitalised, her mother told the other members that she had to leave the group. She said that some backstage people associated with Little Mix were glad to see her go.
| + List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, with selected chart positions and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="5" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||||
| + List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, with selected chart positions and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album |
| +List of songwriting credits, with year released and album shown
! Year
! Artist
! Featured artist ! Album ! Song ! Notes | |||||
| 2012 | Little Mix | rowspan="19" | DNA | "Wings" | Co-writer |
| "DNA" | |||||
| "Change Your Life" | |||||
| "How Ya Doin'?" | |||||
| 2013 | Salute | "Salute" | |||
| "Move" | |||||
| "Little Me" | |||||
| 2015 | |||||
| Get Weird | "Grown" | ||||
| "OMG" | |||||
| "I Love You" | |||||
| "Lightning" | |||||
| "I Won't" | |||||
| "Clued Up" | |||||
| Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea | "Pretty Girls" | ||||
| 2016 | Little Mix | Glory Days | "Shout Out to My Ex" | ||
| "Freak" | |||||
| "Down & Dirty" | |||||
| "Private Show" | |||||
| 2018 | Sharaya J | LM5 | "Strip" | ||
| "Love a Girl Right" | |||||
| 2021 | Herself | Nicki Minaj | rowspan="3" | "Boyz" | |
| 2023 | rowspan="2" | "Bad Thing" | |||
| 2024 | Zion Foster and Herself | "Mine" |
| + Listing of acting roles ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Notes ! scope="col" | |
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