One Direction

One Direction is a British-Irish boy band consisting of Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson. The band originated in London, England. In 2010, they signed to Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after being formed and placing third in the seventh series of The X Factor UK. They later signed in North America to Columbia Records. In November 2011, One Direction released their debut album Up All Night, which became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK of 2011. In 2012, it debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making One Direction the first UK group in history to debut at number one with their first album in the country. Up All Night spawned the Official UK Singles Chart top ten singles — "What Makes You Beautiful", "Gotta Be You", and "One Thing". In 2012, "What Makes You Beautiful" won the BRIT Award for Best British Single. One Direction's world tour is set for 2013, with tickets grossing $15.7 million (in US money) for their Australian and New Zealand dates. One Direction has endorsements with Pokémon, Nokia, HarperCollins and Hasbro. In April 2012, One Direction's combined net worth was estimated at £10 million.

Niall Horan
Niall James Horan, born September 13, 1993 (age 18) is from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, born to mother Maura Gallagher and father Bobby Horan. He has an older brother named Greg. Their parents divorced when he was five. He and his brother lived between each of their homes for a few years before eventually deciding to live with their father in Mullingar. His mother remarried and lives in Edgeworthstown, County Longford with Chris, her husband of seven years. He was a student at Coláiste Mhuire, a boys' Christian Brothers school. Horan was in the school choir, performing seasonally around Christmas. Prior to participating in The X Factor, he performed around his homeland, including as a support act for Lloyd Daniels in Dublin. Horan has been playing guitar since childhood. In an interview he referred to his guitar as "the best present I ever received for Christmas." He has also stated that he is a "big swing" fan, citing artists Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Michael Bublé. Horan also cites rock music, he is a fan of The Eagles, Bon Jovi and The Script.

Harry Styles
Harold Edward Styles, born February 1, 1994 (age 18), residing in Evesham, Worcestershire is from village Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. He is a former student at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, a state comprehensive school. Born to mother Anne Cox and father Des Styles, who divorced when he was seven, he also has an older sister, Gemma. Regarding his parents' divorce, he said, "that was quite a weird time. I remember crying about it. I didn’t really get what was going on properly, I was just sad that my parents wouldn't be together any more." Following the divorce, Harry, his older sister, and his mother moved further out into the Cheshire countryside. At the age of twelve, he moved back to Holmes Chapel. Styles was the lead singer for the band White Eskimo with band members lead guitarist Haydn Morris, bass guitarist Nick Clough and drummer Will Sweeny. They had once entered a Battle of the Bands competition, which they won. He briefly dated English television presenter Caroline Flack, which caused widespread media controversy over their fifteen-year age gap. Styles currently resides with Tomlinson in north London.

Liam Payne
Liam James Payne, born August 29, 1993 (age 18) is from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Born to mother Karen and father Geoff, he has two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola. Until the age of four, Payne had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. To help cope with the pain, he had 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a child. Growing up, his mother would juggle shifts as a nursery nurse to accompany him on all his auditions. Payne was bullied in secondary school and took up boxing lessons, saying he "needed to find a way to defend myself, I was, at 12 years old, fighting the 38-year-old trainer. I broke my nose, had a perforated eardrum and I was always coming home with a bruised, puffy face. But it gave me confidence. I got pretty good over the next couple of years." In 2011, he commented, "I went and told my parents and my teachers, but it didn't stop so I had to sort it out myself. I was in year eight and they were sixth-formers. I got this guy I knew, who was in his early twenties, to pretend to be my big brother and pick me up from school." In 2012, in an interview with The New Zealand Herald on advocating how to deal with bullying, Payne stated, "you have to tell someone", adding "you have to stand up to it, you make yourself a target, you make yourself easy to be picked on and just let things happen, that's what happens, but when you do something, you're active about it, you make sure somethings being done about it then it will slowly stop." He was a music technology student at City of Wolverhampton College. He is currently in a relationship with dancer, Danielle Peazer.

Zayn Malik
Zain Javadd "Zayn" Malik, born January 12, 1993 (age 19) in St. Luke's Hospital, is from West Lane, Bradford, England. Born to British Pakistani father Yaser and an English mother, Tricia Malik (née Brannan), he has three sisters Doniya, Waliyha and Safaa. He grew up in East Bowling, located south of the Bradford city centre. Malik was a pupil at Lower Fields Primary School in East Bowling and went to Tong High School, a state comprehensive school. Malik didn't fit in at his first two schools due to his mixed heritage, revealing that when he and his sister moved schools he felt he fitted in better. Malik dated fellow X Factor contestant, Rebecca Ferguson, which caused controversy due to the six year age difference. The relationship ended after four months together. In November 2011, Ferguson addressed the media interest, saying: "When I was in a relationship with Zayn it was quite hard, but it comes with it. Me and Zayn just grew apart. I wish him all the best." In 2011, Malik also commented, "Even though it was a mutual decision, when you have a proper heartache like that, I don't think you fully get over it. We're still friends and talk all the time." Malik is addicted to smoking cigarettes. He is currently in a relationship with Little Mix member Perrie Edwards. In late 2011, the pair were romantically linked after reports claimed they shared a kiss backstage on The X Factor during one of One Direction's appearances on the show. They were romantically linked in 2012 again. They have both confirmed they are in a relationship, May 2012.

Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson, born December 21, 1991 (age 20), is from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Born to mother Johannah and father Troy. Johannah split from his father Troy when he was young and he took on his stepfather Mark Tomlinson's last name. He has four younger step-sisters: Charlotte, Félicité, and twins Daisy and Phoebe. Daisy and Phoebe had roles as babies on a show called Fat Friends, he would go along and serve as an extra. After Fat Friends, he attended an acting school in Barnsley. He had small parts in an ITV1 drama called If I Had You, and BBC's Waterloo Road. He was a sixth form student at Hall Cross School, a state comprehensive school, and a former pupil of the Hayfield School. He revealed that he failed his first year of A levels at the Hayfield School, "mainly because I’d been too busy having fun. I was out all the time in that first year." He ended up going back to Hall Cross and started A levels over again. As a student at Hall Cross, Tomlinson starred in several musical productions. Tomlinson is currently in a relationship with Manchester University student Eleanor Calder.