Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer, dancer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's Popstars: The Rivals. While still in the group, she began a solo career in April 2009, and between then and 2014, she released four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014). Collectively, the albums included ten singles, five of which – "Fight for This Love, "Promise This", "Call My Name", "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care" – reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart. Cheryl was the first British female solo artist to have five number-one singles in the UK, and she held the record for the British female solo artist with the most UK number-one singles until Jess Glynne overtook her in 2018.
Cheryl became a judge on the UK version of The X Factor in 2008. She mentored two of the eventual winners of the competition (Alexandra Burke in series five and Joe McElderry in series six), before resigning in 2011 and joining the panel of the American version, which she left during the auditions stage. She returned to judge series 11 and 12 in 2014 and 2015 of the UK version. From 2019 to 2020, Cheryl was a judge on The Greatest Dancer.
Cheryl has become a recognised and photographed style icon, being referred to as a "fashionista" by the press. She has been photographed for the covers of British Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, and fronted cosmetic company L'Oréal from 2009 to 2018. Her net worth was estimated at £20 million in October 2014. Cheryl was married to England footballer Ashley Cole from July 2006 to September 2010. She married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in July 2014, and was granted a decree nisi from him in October 2016. From 2016 to 2018, she was in a relationship with One Direction singer Liam Payne, with whom she has a son born in March 2017.