FKA twigs

FKA twigs underwent surgery in December 2017 to remove fibroid tumours from her uterus. She described the experience as living with “a fruit bowl of pain every day” and adopted a vegan diet in 2020 after connecting animal products with worsening symptoms.

In 2014, she began a relationship with actor Robert Pattinson, and they became engaged before ending their relationship in mid-2017. She later dated actor Shia LaBeouf from 2018 to 2019 and musician Matty Healy of the 1975 from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, she identified director and photographer Jordan Hemingway as her partner.

Tahliah Debrett Barnett was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and was raised by her English mother and stepfather. Her mother was a dancer and gymnast with Spanish ancestry, while her biological father is Jamaican and worked as a musician. She did not meet her biological father until she was 18.

She attended St Edward's School in Cheltenham on a scholarship, taking opera and ballet lessons and appearing in school productions. At 16, she began making music in youth clubs. She moved to South London at 17 to pursue dance, enrolled at the BRIT School, and later transferred to Croydon College to study fine arts.

Before releasing her own music, she worked as a backup dancer in videos by Kylie Minogue, Plan B, Ed Sheeran, Taio Cruz, Dionne Bromfield, Jessie J, and Wretch 32. She appeared in Jessie J's videos for “Do It Like a Dude” and “Price Tag,” and also sang periodically at The Box Soho.

Barnett self-released her debut extended play, EP1, on Bandcamp in December 2012 and uploaded a video for each song. She was known simply as Twigs because of the way her joints crack. After another act called the Twigs asked her to change the name, she added FKA. She has said that the letters do not stand for a specific phrase.

Her second extended play, EP2, was released through Young in September 2013 and was produced by Barnett and Arca. The release received strong critical reviews, while “Water Me,” directed by Jesse Kanda, brought wider attention. Barnett was nominated for the BBC Sound of 2014 prize and included on Spotify's Spotlight on 2014 list.

FKA twigs released her debut studio album, LP1, through Young in August 2014. The album reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 30 on the US Billboard 200, and it was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. Its singles included “Two Weeks,” “Pendulum,” and “Video Girl.” She supported the album with a world tour and made her US television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Her third extended play, M3LL155X, followed in 2015. The project contained five tracks and was accompanied by a short film directed by Barnett, incorporating themes and imagery including pregnancy, sex dolls, and vogueing. She also created the choreographed performance Congregata and directed several of her own music videos.

In 2016, she released “Good to Love” and created Soundtrack 7, a dance film made, performed, and filmed across seven days at the Manchester International Festival. She later directed, narrated, or appeared in campaigns for Nike and Apple, and launched the digital Instagram magazine AVANTgarden, which received a Webby Special Achievement award.

After a four-year break from releasing music, FKA twigs returned with “Cellophane” in 2019. Her second studio album, Magdalene, was released that November and received widespread critical acclaim. It appeared at number one on several year-end lists and topped the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

In the same year, she made her feature-film acting debut as Shy Girl in Honey Boy. She also continued directing music videos, including the video for “Sad Day,” which won best cinematography at the 2020 UK Music Video Awards.

Her first mixtape, Caprisongs, was released through Young and Atlantic Records in January 2022. It included collaborations with artists such as The Weeknd, Rema, Pa Salieu, Daniel Caesar, Jorja Smith, Shygirl, and Yung Lean. She received the Godlike Genius Award at the 2022 BandLab NME Awards.

FKA twigs appeared alongside Bill Skarsgård in the 2024 film The Crow, playing Shelly Webster. Her screen work also includes The Carpenter's Son and the short film Soundtrack 7.

She began presenting material from her album Eusexua through performances and singles including the title track, “Perfect Stranger,” and “Drums of Death.” Her creative work has continued to combine electronic music, choreography, visual art, fashion, and film.

FKA twigs' music draws on electronic music, art pop, trip hop, R&B, industrial music, choral music, techno, and avant-garde styles. Her soprano vocals and highly choreographed videos are central to her artistic identity, and her work incorporates elements of afrofuturism. She has cited Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam Ant, and X-Ray Spex among her influences.

She signed the Musicians For Palestine pledge in 2022 and later performed at the Artists for Aid benefit concert in London, which raised funds for Gaza and Sudan. She has also supported Valerie's Law, a campaign seeking mandatory training for agencies dealing with domestic abuse against Black women and girls.

In April 2024, she testified before a United States Senate Judiciary subcommittee about deepfakes and artificial intelligence. She called for stronger regulation after developing her own deepfake to demonstrate the technology's potential risks.