Background and career
Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (born 24 September 1980) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her accolades include three Mercury Prize nominations, one Brit Award nomination, and a European Border Breakers Award. She has been noted by some critics as a virtuoso guitarist, as well as for her powerful, wide-ranging operatic contralto voice and sometimes androgynous stage appearance. Born to therapist parents in London, Calvi graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in music, having studied violin. She subsequently worked as a private guitar instructor before embarking on a music career. She released her eponymous debut album in 2011 through Domino Records to critical acclaim, earning a Mercury Prize nomination for Album of the Year, a British Breakthrough Act nomination at the 2012 Brit Awards and a European Border Breakers Award. Her second album, One Breath, was released in 2013, earning her a second Mercury Prize nomination. She followed this in 2014 with the EP Strange Weather and subsequently wrote the music for a stage production of the opera The Sandman, directed by Robert Wilson. Calvi released her third full-length album, Hunter, in August 2018, earning her a third Mercury Prize nomination.
Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi was born on 24 September 1980 in London, the younger of two children born to an English mother and Italian father, both therapists and "amateur musicians." Her sister Nuala Calvi is a journalist. Calvi spent most of the first three years of her life in a hospital undergoing treatment and surgeries to correct congenital hip dysplasia. "The way I dealt with that was to create my own world. And that's what my relationship with music is – a world of my own creation that I escape into. I was always a dreamer. The early things stick with you," she later remembered. Calvi grew up being exposed to a multitude of genres by her music-loving father; as well as her grandfather, with whom she spent summers in Rome. This eclectic array ranged from Captain Beefheart to The Rolling Stones to Maria Callas, combined with classical music: "I was so taken by the sound. Whenever I saw an instrument I would get so excited and my heart would beat really fast." Calvi began playing violin at the age of six, before beginning to learn guitar at age eight. By the age of ten she was using a double cassette karaoke machine to overdub her guitar playing. She frequently played along to the records of Jimi Hendrix, whom she idolized. She also came to be much influenced by 20th century composers Messiaen, Ravel, and Debussy, attracted "to the impressionistic element of the music," and would try to recreate this feeling on the guitar. When Calvi was 18 years old, she came out to her family as lesbian. After graduating from secondary school, Calvi enrolled at the University of Southampton, where she studied violin and guitar, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 2003. Following her completion of university, Calvi returned to London and worked as a guitar instructor, giving private lessons, though she reflected: "I was rubbish because I had taught myself so I couldn't explain how to play." She also worked as a sales assistant in a toy shop.
Calvi did not begin singing until her mid-late-twenties. "I had a phobia about it until five years ago," she said in 2011. "I wouldn't sing in school or even in the shower. I had this emotional block about hearing my voice. So the guitar became my voice when I was a teenager, it was how I could express myself." In an effort to find her own voice, Calvi has spoken of how she would lock herself in a room for long periods of time, singing along to records by Edith Piaf and Nina Simone. Calvi formed several bands, including Cheap Hotel, who released one download-only single ("New York"), which did not chart. Calvi later met multi-instrumentalist Mally Harpaz and drummer Daniel Maiden-Wood, who eventually formed her band. While playing in bands and giving guitar lessons, Calvi was privately recording songs on an eight-track recorder in the attic of her parents' home. At an early gig, Calvi caught the attention of Bill Ryder-Jones who urged Laurence Bell of Domino Records to sign her. Early support also came from Brian Eno, who heard about Calvi through a friend. Calvi played guitar on the track "The Prizefighter and the Heiress" on Johnny Flynn's album Been Listening, and in October 2009 she went on to support Flynn on tour. In December 2009, she signed a recording contract with Domino Records. In the autumn of 2009 Calvi recorded a series of filmed Attic Sessions that were uploaded onto YouTube, including a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Joan of Arc", Elvis Presley's "Surrender", TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me" and David Bowie's "Sound & Vision". In 2010 Calvi supported American rock band Interpol on their United Kingdom tour, as well as label-mates the Arctic Monkeys at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. Nick Cave also invited her to support Grinderman across Europe in October 2010. On 11 October 2010, Calvi released her debut solo single "Jezebel", a 1951 song originally written by Wayne Shanklin and made famous by Frankie Laine and French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Both "Jezebel" and the B-side "Moulinette" were recorded by Rob Ellis, and released on limited edition 7" and digital download. Live versions of both "Jezebel" and "Moulinette" were filmed at The Luminaire venue in London by Emma Nathan, who also created the vinyl artwork.
Calvi released her eponymous debut album in the UK and Europe through Domino Records on 17 January 2011, to critical acclaim. It entered the official UK charts at number 40, and achieved similar success across Europe, charting at 17 in France, 33 in Austria, 40 in Switzerland, 55 in Sweden and 70 in Germany. In France, according to Q magazine, Calvi "has become an overnight star, the album debuting in the Top 20." The album was released in USA, Australia, and Japan on 1 March 2011. Calvi co-produced the album with long-term PJ Harvey collaborator Rob Ellis. Brian Eno sang backing vocals on Desire and Suzanne & I, Dave Okumu from the band The Invisible sang backing vocals on the song No More Words, and long-term collaborator Emma Nathan created the album artwork. "I see music quite visually and I like to create atmospheres... I like to try and create a whole world in the space of a song," explained Calvi. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Calvi said of writing the album "'I imagine the different instruments as colours, and so it feels like painting. I need music to come from a really emotional place. With my music I do like to hypnotise people and take them somewhere else. I like to slowly draw people into a world." NME gave the album 9 out of 10, describing it as "sumptuous, seductive and a bit scary, this velvety debut will stalk your dreams.", and stating that "this self-titled collection of 10 songs is perhaps the first great record of 2011." Uncut magazine said "This isn't just a great debut. It's a fearless rejection of current pop trends, fashioning a benchmark of intensity and originality that the rest of this year's albums will struggle to match.", whilst The Fly magazine called it an "arresting, sparse and darkly captivating listen." The Evening Standard said "the raw talent is undeniable: 2011 is Calvi's for the taking". Calvi launched the album to sold-out show at the intimate Hoxton Hall in London on 27 January 2011. Calvi's European tour in late 2011 was filmed and released as a two-part series called Somewhere Along the Line. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize, which went instead to PJ Harvey. In January 2012, Calvi was awarded the European Border Breakers Award. Calvi was nominated in the Best British Breakthrough category at the BRIT Awards 2012. In the summer of 2012, Calvi was one of the judges for the Mercury Music Prize. Calvi took time off recording in November 2012 to sing on a Noah and The Whale song called "Heart of Nowhere", released in May 2013.
Calvi announced on 5 August 2013 that her second album titled One Breath was to be released on Domino Records on 7 October. Her announcement was accompanied by a trailer filmed by Emma Nathan. The record was produced by John Congleton and recorded in Blackbox Studios, France as well as Elmwood Recording Studios in Dallas, Texas, United States. Calvi has explained the title as: "One Breath is the moment before you've got to open yourself up, and it's about how terrifying that is. It's scary and it's thrilling. It's also full of hope, because whatever has to happen hasn't happened yet." Calvi told Mojo magazine that whereas Anna Calvi was recorded on and off over three years, One Breath took just six weeks and was less of a challenge to complete than its predecessor. Calvi has said that she had been listening to composers John Adams and Steve Reich, as well as choral music, for inspiration while writing the record. Calvi talked to The Observer about One Breath saying: "I wanted to explore the feeling of being out of control, and how this can be very scary and yet thrilling at the same time. It's always important to me that the music tells the story as much as the lyrics, so I was very focused on creating rich textures and a lot of atmosphere for the songs to exist in. This record was made during quite a turbulent time in my life and I like the way I can feel that in the music when I listen back." Released in October 2013, One Breath received critical praise upon release, with The Independent calling the album "an LP that rumbles with lusty insistence, swoons with bliss, luxuriates in cinematic style and nudges Calvi's emotive voice to fresh operatic heights". The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize, marking Calvi's second nomination. Two singles, "Eliza" and "Suddenly", were released in promotion of the album, both featuring videos directed by Emma Nathan.
Calvi began 2014 with a tour of the UK in February before heading to Europe throughout March. The Guardian gave Calvi's February performance at London's Troxy theatre a four star review, stating that it "confirm[ed] Calvi as a modern guitar hero of exceptional talent and imagination". After the show at the Troxy, Calvi played an intimate "solo show" to 150 fans at the George Tavern. Reviewing this special performance, Gigwise said that "up close and personal, the microscope highlights the nuances and flourishes that make Calvi the rarest of talent". On 24 March 2014, Calvi announced two shows in May in Sydney and Melbourne, as part of her Australian tour. She also performed on 1 June as a vocal guest alongside the Heritage Orchestra for their Giorgio Moroder tribute. Calvi returned to Glastonbury Festival on 28 June 2014 for a performance on the Park stage. Calvi's first EP, a collection of covers titled Strange Weather, was released on 15 July 2014. The EP featured David Byrne (Talking Heads) and consisted of songs by Keren Ann, FKA Twigs, Connan Mockasin, Suicide, and David Bowie. Calvi also collaborated with Marianne Faithfull on her 2014 album track, "Falling Back". Subsequently, Calvi performed this track with Faithfull on the BBC's Later with Jools Holland TV show on 23 September 2014. She was then chosen to support Morrissey for his show at the O2 Arena in London on 29 November 2014.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
