50 interesting facts about Ellie Goulding: is ambidextrous, is an avid marathon runner

Ellie Goulding is an English singer-songwriter and has earned her net worth from her debut studio album Lights in 2010, the album debut number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 380,000 copies by the end of the year.

1. Ellie was born on December 30, 1986 in in Lyonshall, a small village near Kington, Herefordshire.

2. Her full name is Elena Jane Goulding.

3. Her mother, Tracey (née Clark), used to work at a supermarket, and her father, Arthur Goulding, came from a "family of undertakers". Her parents separated when she was five, and she had a stepfather who was a truck driver.

4. She attended Lady Hawkins' School in Kington, where she won a main part in a school production, the Wizard of Oz, as the scarecrow.

5. Her love for music developed at a young age. She began playing the clarinet at the age of nine, and at 14 began learning guitar.

6. She attended the University of Kent, where she discovered electronic music and wrote "Wish I Stayed."

7. She collaborated with Skrillex on the song "Summit" and her 2010 cover of Elton John's "Your Song" reached #1 in the U.K.

8. She cited Rihanna one of her influences, and sang a cover of her song "Only Girl (In The World)."

9. She is ambidextrous.

10. After setting up a flat in West London, the singer played a series of gigs In Camden. One night she missed her train back to Canterbury after a show, which resulted in her meeting another manager and setting up a MySpace page. Missing that train helped form her career!

11. She was able to contact electropop musician Frankmusic of Confusion Girl fame to ask for help on one of her tracks.

12. In 2009, Goulding was signed to Polydor, owned by Universal Music Group who have also looked after Cheryl Cole, Eminem and Lady Gaga.

13. Her first single, Under The Sheets was recorded in her producer's university bedroom of all places and was released as a low-key debut, as well as the free Single of the Week on iTunes at the end of December 2009. It racked up 100,000 in the first three months which is pretty good.

14. In 2010 and just before the release of her first album, Goulding won the BBC Sound Poll which shows off the industry insiders' favorites for rising stars and artists. In the same year, she also won the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards, meaning she was the second artist ever to win both in the same year.

15. Her debut album Lights was released in March 2010 and reached number one in the UK album chart, selling over 1.6 million copies around the world so far. It features singles such as The Writer, Guns and Horses and one of her most famous tracks,Starry Eyed.

16. Her single "Lights" stayed on the Billboard charts for 33 weeks, longer than any other song in 2012.

17. The album was supported by Nike as a running soundtrack and Goulding herself has often expressed how keen she is on long distance running, aiming to run six miles every day.

18. In 2011 she sang at the British royal wedding. Ellie performed "Your Song" for Kate and William's first dance. She went on to perform other songs and said that the experience was a moment in her life she would "treasure forever."

19. After the release of her second version of Lights and Elton John's 'Your Song', Goulding's second album followed in 2012 with the lead single 'Anything Could Happen'.

20. The album was entitled Halcyon and features collaborations with artists such as Calvin Harris and Tinie Tempah. It debuted at number two in the album chart and was reissued in August 2013 as Halcyon Days, with lead single 'Burn' that obviously became Goulding's first number one single.

21. Ellie also surfs and practices tae kwon do and capoeira.

22. Her natural eye color is brown, however she wears contact lenses in some of her music videos this is how her eyes appear blue in the new starry eyed video.

23. She is 5' 5" tall.

24. Ellie Goulding's favorite comedy television show is 30 Rock.

25. She keeps a stuffed rabbit and a stuffed crow in her bedroom.

26. Ellie has never seen a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings film.

27. She likes reading and learning about history, in particular World War I and II.

28. She is a huge fan of Canadian-born rappy Drake.

29. If she was not a singer today, she said she would like to be a personal trainer.

30. Her favorite book is Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.

31. Goulding's first relationship in the limelight was with Radio 1's Greg James. They first got together back in August 2010 at one of the singer's early gigs, but broke up in December 2011 on good terms.

32. After recording a track with American Dubstep DJ Skrillex, the pair progressed into a seven month relationship during 2012 but split due to the long-distance.

33. In November 2012, only a month after her break up, Goulding was spotted with War Horse star Jeremy Irvine. The couple became inseparable but in August 2013 they ended their relationship.

34. In September 2013, Ed Sheeran stated that he briefly dated Goulding that summer.

35. The singer was recently linked to One Direction star Niall Horan although she refuses to comment on it.

36. The 'Burn' singer may spend a lot of her time in London these days, but her song 'Wished I Stayed' shows she will always miss the countryside and her home country of Hertfordshire.

37. In Ellie's 'Anything Could Happen' Video, Ellie actually wore a wetsuit under her dress in the video for her 2012 single - to keep out the chill from the sea!

38. She loves buying people books and alcohol as presents.

39. She is loves all kinds of cheese.

40. Her natural hair color is brown, not blonde.

41. Goulding is close friends with American folk singer Lissie.

42. She is also good friends with New Zealand indie pop singer Lorde and American pop singer Katy Perry.

43. In 2010, Goulding participated in the Bupa Great North Run for the British Heart Foundation

44. In 2012, she partnered with Pandora Radio; one dollar for each sale of her mixtape was donated to the Free the Children charity.

45. In 2011, Goulding ran the She Runs LA event for charity Students Run LA, which aims to increase access to sport for less privileged children across the Los Angeles Unified School District.

46. On 1 June 2013, Goulding performed at Gucci's global concert event in London whose campaign "Chime for Change" aims to raise awareness of women's issues in terms of education, health and justice.

47. Ellie Goulding's net worth is $1.3 million.

48. Goulding's favorite color is blue.

49. She has an obsession with wearing sweaters with cute cat images on them and likes to instagram photos of cats.
    

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