Background
Vanessa White was born in Yeovil, Somerset and is half-Filipina from her mother and half Black English from her father.
Vanessa White was born in Yeovil, Somerset and is half-Filipina from her mother and half Black English from her father.
She was attracted to performing from a young age and attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School on Saturdays before being offered a full-time place and moving to Stratford, London with her family when she was five.
She applied for The Brit School, but was turned down. She appeared in several theatre productions, including the West End production of The Lion King as Young Nala and also played one of the King"s daughters in The King And I from 2000–2002. 2007-2014: The Saturdays
Members refer to her as "our Christina Aguilera" due to her extensive vocal range.
Initially, White and band member Una Healy had the strongest relationship, as they discovered that they were very alike.
However, she has grown to love the other members all the same. She has also received comparison to American singers Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.
During June and July 2009, White toured the United Kingdom with The Saturdays (The Work Tour). Before she was about to go on stage for the second show of the tour in Dundee, White tripped over a cable backstage and tore a ligament in her ankle and missed a large proportion of the show that night.
Once paramedics had strapped up her foot, she was permitted to join the band on stage in a wheelchair.
White spent the next few shows appearing on stage sitting on a bar stool and gradually began to stand for more and more songs as the tour progressed, before being able to perform her choreography again. lieutenant was written in a two-day studio session. White provided additional vocals on Master Shortie"s debut album Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on the track "Swagger Chick".
The album was released on 27 July 2009.
In January 2010, White participated in the first series of the Independent Television celebrity reality television programme Popstar to Operastar. She was the second contestant eliminated, on 22 January.
In 2013 she featured on Vince Kidd"s song "The Zoo". The music video debuted on YouTube on 20 April 2013.
2015-present: Chapter One and debut solo album
On 21 September 2015, she released her first solo track entitled "Relationship Goals." The song is intended as a preview of her solo album which is to follow in 2016.
On 13 November 2015, she released her second solo single, "Don"t Want to Be Your Lover". The music video for the song was also released on the same day. On January 7, 2016 she released the single "Nostalgia," and announced that it, alongside her two previously released tracks, would be included on her debut European Parliament, "Chapter One."
Vanessa has been dating menswear stylist Gary Salter since 2012.
She rose to fame in 2008 as a member of English-Irish girl group The Saturdays, signed to Fascination and Polydor Records. She is the youngest member of the group. White is the only member of The Saturdays to have a solo in every song in their debut album, Chasing Lights.
Along with the other members of the group, White has co-written a track on their second album, Wordshaker, titled "Deeper".