Sade

In the 1980s, Sade squatted in Tottenham with her partner Robert Elms. On 11 February 1989, she married Spanish film director Carlos Scola Pliego, a marriage that ended in divorce in 1995. She subsequently lived briefly in Jamaica during a relationship with music producer Bob Morgan, giving birth to her child on 21 July 1996.

Her child, Izaak Theo Adu, came out as a transgender man in 2016 and publicly thanked his mother for her support throughout his transition. In 2024, Sade dedicated the song "Young Lion" to him. Sade has been in a relationship with former Royal Marine Ian Watts since 2007, from which she gained a stepson. In 2005, she purchased and renovated a cottage near Stroud, Gloucestershire, while maintaining a residence in North London.

Helen Folasade Adu was born on 16 January 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria, to Adebisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics, and Anne Hayes, an English district nurse. Her middle name, Folasade, means "crowned with wealth" in Yoruba. When she was four years old, her parents separated, and her mother brought her and her elder brother, Banji Adu, back to England to live with their maternal grandparents near Colchester, Essex.

At age 11, she moved to Holland-on-Sea with her mother and brother. After attending Clacton County High School and the Colchester Institute, she relocated to London at age 18 to study fashion design at Saint Martin's School of Art, later working briefly as a fashion designer and part-time model.

In the early 1980s, Sade began singing backup for the British group Pride. While in the group, she formed a songwriting partnership with guitarist and saxophonist Stuart Matthewman. Her solo performances of the song "Smooth Operator," which she co-wrote with Ray St. John, generated significant industry interest.

In 1983, Sade and Matthewman parted ways with Pride to form the eponymous band Sade alongside keyboardist Andrew Hale, bassist Paul Denman, and drummer Paul Cook. Following their initial live performances in London and New York, she signed with Epic Records in October 1983, followed by the rest of the band in 1984.

The group's debut studio album, Diamond Life, was recorded at The Power Plant in London and released in July 1984. Supported by the singles "Your Love Is King" and "Smooth Operator," the album sold over six million copies worldwide, won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985, and set a record as the best-selling debut album by a British female vocalist.

In late 1985, the group released Promise, which topped the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States, propelled by the single "The Sweetest Taboo." The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1986, making Sade the first Nigerian-born artist to win a Grammy. That same year, she made her acting debut portraying Athene Duncannon in the film Absolute Beginners and contributed to its soundtrack.

Sade followed with the multi-platinum albums Stronger Than Pride in 1988, featuring the hit single "Paradise," and Love Deluxe in 1992. The band took a hiatus in 1996 following the birth of her child before regrouping for Lovers Rock in 2000. The album introduced a shift in their musical style, earning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2002 and spawning the single "By Your Side."

After another decade-long break, the band released their sixth studio album, Soldier of Love, in February 2010. The record debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making the group the record holders for the longest gap between number-one albums on that chart at nearly 25 years. The title track won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Following the conclusion of their worldwide 2011 tour, the band contributed individual tracks to film and compilation projects, including "Flower of the Universe" for Disney's A Wrinkle in Time in 2018, "The Big Unknown" for Steve McQueen's Widows, and "Young Lion" for the Red Hot Organization compilation TRAИƧA in 2024.

Sade was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 and promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music. She received an invitation to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023 and was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026 alongside bandmates Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale, and Paul Denman.