Portrait · Harald Krichel / CC BY-SA 3.0

Ed Sheeran

Singer-songwriter and musician

Born 1991

Ed Sheeran is a British singer-songwriter whose records join acoustic storytelling with pop and hip-hop. Born in Halifax and raised in Suffolk, he built an audience through independent releases, small performances and online videos. Disney's documentary account traces his connection with Jamal Edwards in 2010 and the online audience they developed. Loose Change and No.5 Collaborations Project preceded his 2011 major-label debut, +. The A Team established his songwriting, while x and Thinking Out Loud brought a wider audience and two GRAMMY wins. Divide then produced Shape of You and added two more GRAMMY awards. Sheeran's catalogue also includes No.6 Collaborations Project, Equals, Subtract, Autumn Variations and Play. His writing for other performers reaches Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, One Direction, Jessie Ware, Rita Ora and BTS. He has appeared in concert films and documentaries, played a Lannister soldier in Game of Thrones and portrayed himself in Yesterday, Bridget Jones's Baby and Red Notice. Gingerbread Man Records extends his work into artist development, and his foundation supports access to music education. Play explores connections between musical traditions; the 2026 Garrix collaboration Repeat It and his announced departure from Warner's Atlantic/Asylum roster mark a further chapter. A 2023 interview describes an early audience of listeners who recognised themselves in him. His later screen work includes Taylor Swift’s The End of an Era documentary.

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Connected people

ConnectionJamal EdwardsHelped develop the early online performance audience.

ConnectionAaron DessnerCollaborator on Autumn Variations.

ConnectionMartin GarrixRepeat It collaborator.

Provenance before publication

Attribution.

Date not supplied OfficialOriginal

Image rights ledger

Ed Sheeran photographed in 2018

Media: Harald Krichel

Original GET200 image/jpeg; pixels actually inspected. Single subject, complete hair and centered face with glasses, upper torso; microphone/bottles at lower right clear of face. Existing Commons crop by BartocX in 2020; disclose crop+web-display resize.

Source file CC BY-SA 3.0

Ed Sheeran photographed in 2013

Media: Eva Rinaldi

Original GET200 image/jpeg; pixels actually inspected. Distinct performance photograph, whole head/hair and shoulders, microphone below mouth, portrait-format; lower resolution suitable feature at intended display scale. Existing crop uploaded Minerva97 in 2014; disclose crop+display resize.

Source file CC BY-SA 2.0