Kate Nash facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kate Nash
Nash performing at Manchester Pride, 2013
Background information
Birth name	Kate Marie Nash
Born	(1987-07-06) 6 July 1987 (age 38) Harrow, London, England
Genres	Alternative pop rock indie
Occupation(s)	Singer musician songwriter actress
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass piano
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Moshi Moshi Fiction Universal Geffen Have 10p Dine Alone Girl Gang Kill Rock Stars

Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.

Kate Nash started her music journey in 2005. Her song "Foundations" became very popular in the UK in 2007. Her first album, Made of Bricks, reached number one in the UK. It also did well in other countries. Nash later won the award for Best British Female Artist at the 2008 Brit Awards.

Her second album, My Best Friend Is You, came out in 2010. It reached the top 10 in the UK and Germany. After leaving her big record label, Kate released her third album, Girl Talk, on her own in 2013. Her fourth album, Yesterday Was Forever, was also released independently in 2018. Fans helped fund this album through a Kickstarter campaign.

Besides music, Kate Nash has acted in movies like Greetings from Tim Buckley (2012) and Powder Room (2013). She also played Rhonda "Britannica" Richardson in the Netflix TV show GLOW from 2017 to 2019.

Kate's Early Life

Kate Marie Nash was born in Harrow, London, England, on July 6, 1987. She was the second of three daughters. Her dad, Steve, worked with computer systems, and her mom, Marie, was a nurse. Kate learned to play the piano when she was young.

When she was 18, Kate had heart surgery to fix a fast heartbeat. This experience later inspired her song "Death Proof". She went to the BRIT School because she wanted to be an actress. But after being turned down by several acting schools, she decided to focus on music. Before becoming a musician, she worked in a clothing store and a restaurant.

Kate's Music Career

Starting Out: 2005-2008

Kate Nash performing in 2007

Kate Nash began her music career in 2005. She started recording songs after breaking her foot, which kept her at home. She then began performing live in pubs and at open mic nights. She also played at an anti-folk festival in Brighton.

After some shows, she put her music on Myspace. There, she found a manager and gained attention with help from singer Lily Allen. Her first song was recorded in Iceland and released in February 2007. Only 2,000 copies were made on vinyl, and they sold out quickly.

In April 2007, Kate signed with Fiction Records. The next month, she performed on TV for the first time on Later... with Jools Holland. Her second song, "Foundations", came out in June 2007. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Because of this success, her first album, Made of Bricks, was released earlier, on August 6, 2007.

Made of Bricks was produced by Paul Epworth. It included many songs Kate had performed on her tours. The album became a big success, reaching number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. It stayed on the chart for over 40 weeks.

In 2007, Kate performed at many music festivals. These included Glastonbury, Latitude, and Reading and Leeds. In late 2007 and early 2008, she released three more songs from Made of Bricks. "Mouthwash" and "Pumpkin Soup" both made it into the Top 40 in the UK.

In February 2008, Kate Nash won the Best British Female Solo Artist award. She also won the Q Award for Breakthrough Artist and the NME Award for Best Solo Artist. Kate went on her first tours in Australia and the US in 2008.

My Best Friend Is You: 2009-2011

Kate Nash performing in 2010

In March 2009, Kate Nash helped start the Featured Artists' Coalition. This group helps musicians. She also shared that she was starting to record her second album. She worked with producer Bernard Butler on eight songs that summer. In late 2009, Kate joined a punk band called The Receeders as a bass player.

In January 2010, Kate announced her new album was finished. The next month, a song called "I Just Love You More" was available for free. The first official song from the album was "Do-Wah-Doo", released on April 12, 2010.

Kate's second album, My Best Friend Is You, came out a week later. It received good reviews. People said it sounded like a "girl group" with influences from different music styles. The album reached the top 10 in the UK and Germany. Two more songs from the album, "Kiss That Grrrl" and "Later On", were released but did not become hits. To promote the album, Kate toured North America and Australia. In February 2011, she performed in Brazil for the first time. She called the Rio show "the best concert of her life".

After her record label ended her contract, Kate Nash started her own label called Have 10p Records. In 2011, she also started "Kate Nash's Rock 'n' Roll for Girls After School Music Club". This club helps teenage girls learn songwriting and make their own music. She promoted this idea in schools during her UK tour.

New Sound: 2012-2015

Kate Nash performing in Amsterdam, 2012

In February 2012, Kate Nash wrote a song with some protesters in London. She also worked with other artists and wrote a song called "I Am Me" with Willow Smith.

In June 2012, Kate went on a UK tour. She released a new song, "Under-Estimate the Girl", for free. This song had a punk and grunge sound. As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kate put on a play based on a musical episode of the show. In November, her EP (Extended Play) Death Proof was released. She also had small roles in movies like Greetings from Tim Buckley, Syrup, and Powder Room.

Kate Nash performing at Manchester Pride, 2013

Kate's third album, Girl Talk, was released on March 4, 2013. She released it independently through her own label. This album had a heavier rock and grunge sound, which was different from her first two pop albums. The songs talked a lot about feminism and female power. Fans helped fund this album through a crowdfunding campaign. Girl Talk received mixed reviews and was not a huge commercial success. Kate toured a lot in Europe and the Americas to promote the album. In late 2013, she released a Christmas EP with The Tuts.

In 2014, Kate performed at the Coachella and Lollapalooza festivals. She released a new free song called "She Rules" with a DIY music video. That same year, she moved to Los Angeles. She started Girl Gang, an online group for the feminist community. She also helped write the song "Poison" for Rita Ora, which was a UK hit in 2015. Later that year, Kate faced financial difficulties. She worked at a comics store and sold her clothes to help recover.

GLOW and Yesterday Was Forever: 2016-2019

Kate Nash in August 2018

In 2016, Kate released new songs called "Good Summer" and "My Little Alien". In April 2017, she started a Kickstarter campaign to fund her fourth album. She also released an EP called Agenda.

Kate joined the cast of the Netflix show GLOW. The show tells a story about women's professional wrestling in the 1980s. Kate played Rhonda "Britannica" Richardson. The show started in June 2017 and was very popular. In August, she toured the UK to celebrate 10 years since her first album came out.

Kate's fourth album, Yesterday Was Forever, was released independently on March 30, 2018. It included the songs "Drink About You" and "Life in Pink". The album received mixed reviews and did not become a commercial hit. Kate toured the United States, Canada, and the UK to promote it.

In September 2018, a documentary film about Kate Nash called Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl was shown for the first time. It follows Kate as she creates her fourth album. The film was later shown at museums and on BBC iPlayer. Kate also appeared in the movie Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans. In 2019, she released two new songs: "Trash", which talks about pollution, and the pop song "Bad Lieutenant".

Kate's Music Style

Kate Nash is inspired by bands like Hole and Bikini Kill. She also likes Arctic Monkeys. Kate has said that the poetry of John Cooper Clarke influenced her lyrics, especially in the song "Foundations". Other early influences include Buzzcocks, Spice Girls, Nirvana, and Blink-182.

Starting with her album Girl Talk, Kate began to add punk rock and grunge sounds to her music. She also used 1990s-inspired looks in her music videos. Kate is known for singing with her strong London accent. Her music was even used in an exhibition at the British Library to show how the Cockney English accent is used by younger people today.

Kate Nash is a natural redhead. She dyed her hair black for a movie role. Later, she had two-tone black and blonde hair to promote her 2013 album Girl Talk. In 2014, she dyed her hair pink for a festival performance. She often wears punk-inspired jewelry, like earrings made of safety pins.

Helping Others

In September 2009, Kate Nash helped raise money for a five-year-old girl named Tilly Lockey. Tilly had lost her hands due to an illness. Kate used an auction to help Tilly's parents afford special prosthetic hands.

During the 2011 England riots, Kate volunteered to collect donations for people who lost their homes. She set up her own donation stand and delivered items in her car.

Kate's Views

Kate Nash is a strong supporter of feminism. She works to fight for equal rights for women in the music industry. In 2013, she became a Global Ambassador for the "Because I Am a Girl" movement. She partnered with them for her own campaign called "Protect a Girl".

Kate is also a supporter of the LGBT community. She has many LGBT fans. She described her 2010 song "I've Got a Secret" as a song against homophobia.

Kate's Personal Life

Kate Nash dated Ryan Jarman, the lead singer of The Cribs, starting in 2007. They met on a TV music show. They broke up in 2012.

In 2008, after touring a lot, Kate experienced a "breakdown". She has been open about her struggles with anxiety.

Kate became a vegan in 2017, after being a vegetarian since 2009. She made this choice after watching the film Okja.

Kate's Albums

• Made of Bricks (2007)
• My Best Friend Is You (2010)
• Girl Talk (2013)
• Yesterday Was Forever (2018)
• 9 Sad Symphonies (2024)

Kate's Film and TV Roles

Awards

On February 20, 2008, Kate Nash received a Brit Award for Best Female Artist.