Background and career
Marina Lambrini Diamandis (born 10 October 1985), professionally known under the mononym Marina and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer, songwriter, poet and record producer of Greek ancestry. Born in Brynmawr and raised near Abergavenny, Diamandis later moved to London to become a professional singer, despite having little formal musical experience. In 2009, she came to prominence upon placing second in the BBC's Sound of 2010. Her debut studio album, The Family Jewels (2010), incorporated indie pop and new wave musical styles. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number five and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album's second single, "Hollywood", peaked at number 12 on the UK singles chart. Diamandis's second studio album, Electra Heart (2012), was a concept album about a character of the same name. The album explored electropop and dance-pop and became her first number one album in the United Kingdom. It was certified gold in the US and UK, and respectively produced the successful singles "Primadonna" and "How to Be a Heartbreaker". Diamandis' Europop-inspired third studio album, Froot (2015), became her third top 10 album in the UK and her first top 10 entry on the US Billboard 200. In 2018, she was featured on Clean Bandit's single "Baby", which made the top 20 in the UK. Her fourth studio album, Love + Fear (2019), charted at number five on the UK album chart. In 2021, Diamandis released her fifth studio album, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, which debuted at number 17 in the UK, and was followed by a deluxe version in 2022. Diamandis's sixth studio album, Princess of Power, was released on 6 June 2025; it was preceded by the singles "Butterfly", "Cupid's Girl" and "Cuntissimo".
Marina Lambrini Diamandis was born on 10 October 1985 in Brynmawr, and grew up in Pandy, near Abergavenny. She has one sibling, an elder sister named Lafina. Her Welsh mother and Greek father met at Newcastle University and separated when Diamandis was four years old. Following the separation, her father returned to Greece but would occasionally visit, while she remained in a bungalow in Wales with her mother. She described her childhood as "simple and idyllic" and "peaceful, very normal, poor". Diamandis said that she was a "tomboy" as a child, playing football every day and spending more time with the opposite sex. As a child, Diamandis attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. She said, "I sort of found my talent there... I was the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything." At the age of 16, she moved to Greece to be with her father and "to connect with [her] heritage and learn to speak the language," and sang Greek folk songs with her grandmother. Having earned an International Baccalaureate at St. Catherine's British Embassy School in Athens, she returned to Wales two years later. She and her mother then moved to England, settling in Ross-on-Wye. Obsessed with becoming a singer "almost as if it was a disease", she worked at a petrol station for two months in order to earn money to move to London. Despite not having a musical background, Diamandis had a childhood love of writing. She first began writing music when she was 18 years old; she moved to London to attend dance school, but quit after two months. She studied music at the University of East London and transferred to a classic composition course in Middlesex University the following year, but dropped out after two months.
Knowing the Spice Girls were formed by an advertisement in The Stage, Diamandis applied for auditions listed in that newspaper. She travelled for several unsuccessful auditions, including opportunities with the musical The Lion King and a boy band organised by Virgin Records. It was during this time that she managed to leave her CV with an A&R representative, but was unable to audition at the time of the appointment as she felt sick. In 2005, she created the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. After she came to prominence, the 'and the Diamonds' part was established as a reference to her fans instead of her backing band. Inspired by the example of self-produced outsider musician Daniel Johnston, Diamandis decided to compose her own music and stop going to auditions. She taught herself how to play the piano. She self-composed and produced her earlier demos with GarageBand, and independently released her debut extended play, Mermaid vs Sailor, through Myspace in 2007. She met with fourteen music labels, only being offered one deal, which she also believed was the only one which would not dictate her image. She came to the attention of Neon Gold Records' Derek Davies in 2008, which managed her for six months, and was hired as the supporting act for Australian recording artist Gotye. Davies reflected, "She just had something that really resonated with me. Even with the quite limited production of her early bedroom demos, she had this powerful yet vulnerable vocal and writing style that didn't sound like anyone else at the time". In October, Diamandis finalised a recording contract with 679 Recordings (eventually renamed 679 Artists), a subdivision of Warner Music Group.
Diamandis's debut single, "Obsessions", was released on 14 February 2009 through Neon Gold Records, while her first extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, followed on 1 June. That summer, she performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, the Glastonbury Festival, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals. She also performed at iTunes Live, releasing a second EP in July 2009 of performances from that festival. In December 2009, Diamandis was ranked in second place on the Sound of 2010 poll organised by the BBC, behind Ellie Goulding. She was one of three nominees for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2010 BRIT Awards, which also went to Goulding. "Mowgli's Road" was released on 13 November 2009, with Diamandis describing it as "uncommercial". Despite this, it received attention after its video was shared by the likes of Perez Hilton and Kanye West. "Mowgli's Road" was followed by "Hollywood" on 1 February 2010, which reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and was eventually certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Diamandis's debut studio album, The Family Jewels, was released on 15 February 2010. It debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 27,618 copies, and was eventually certified gold by the BPI. A 2012 press release from Atlantic Records noted that the album had sold 300,000 copies. Atlantic Records signed Diamandis to Chop Shop Records in the United States in March 2010. Through the label, she released her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, and The Family Jewels in the United States. The latter project debuted at number 138 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 4,000 copies, and on Billboard's Top Heatseekers and Top Rock Albums charts, where it peaked at number 2 and 49 respectively. Later in 2010, Diamandis released three more singles from the album; "I Am Not a Robot", "Oh No!" and "Shampain", which peaked at 26, 38 and 141 in the UK charts. In October 2010, she won Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. To further promote The Family Jewels, Diamandis embarked on The Family Jewels Tour, which visited Europe, North America and Australia throughout 2010 and 2011. In January 2011, in an Australian radio interview, she expressed disappointment at her career, particularly in her failure to attract an American audience. She put this down to inaction by her label and American listeners' contemporary taste for "pumping beats" by artists such as Lady Gaga.
In the summer of 2011, Diamandis and Swedish recording artist Robyn performed as the opening acts for American recording artist Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour. On 30 September, Diamandis released the track "Radioactive" through the iTunes Store. It peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. Her second studio album was preceded by its lead single, "Primadonna", in April 2012. The song is notable for being Diamandis's highest-charting track on the UK Singles Chart, where it reached number 11. It is certified Silver by the BPI, gold in Austria and the United States, and platinum by the respective authorities in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand. The final product, Electra Heart, is a concept album lyrically united by the ideas of "female identity" and "a recent breakup". Diamandis created the titular character "Electra Heart" as a protagonist for the project. She portrays the personas "Housewife", "Beauty Queen", "Homewrecker", and "Idle Teen", which represent several female archetypes of stereotypical American culture. The project was released on 27 April 2012, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 21,358 copies. It became Diamandis's first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom, although at the time it was distinguished as the lowest-selling number-one record of the 21st century in the country. The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry and the Irish Recorded Music Association. Electra Heart debuted at 31 on the US Billboard 200 with 12,000 copies sold its first week, and as of May 2015 has sold 150,000 copies in that country. "Power & Control" and "How to Be a Heartbreaker" were subsequent single releases, with the latter missing the cut-off for initial inclusion on the record. However, it was featured in the revised track listing for the American version. The two songs were minor chart entries in the UK, and the latter was certified gold in the United States for sales over 500,000 copies. Throughout 2012, Diamandis travelled for The Lonely Hearts Club Tour, which was her second headlining concert tour, and the Mylo Xyloto Tour headlined by Coldplay, for which she served as an opening act. On 8 August 2013, she released a music video for the previously unreleased title track "Electra Heart". It depicted the death of the character, and symbolically ended the promotional campaign for Electra Heart.
After spending one month in New York City, Diamandis announced in February 2013 that she had begun writing material for an upcoming third studio album. The single "Froot" was released on 10 October 2014, her 29th birthday, and announced as the title track. The album was announced to be released on 3 April 2015, with a new track from the album being announced each month. However, due to an Internet leak, the release was brought forward. Entirely produced by Diamandis and David Kosten, the album was praised for its cohesive sound. Froot debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, and is her highest-charting album in the United States. Froot peaked at 10 in the UK. In early 2015, it was announced that Diamandis would perform at Lollapalooza Brazil, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Boston Calling Music Festival that March, April and May respectively. From October 2015 to the following October, she embarked on the Neon Nature Tour across Europe and the Americas. Each performance was split into three acts; one for each of her albums, with most of the songs coming from Froot. Her performance at the House of Blues in Boston in November of that year was broadcast live by Yahoo. During a question-and-answer video, Diamandis said that subsequent tours would be different, as her usual tours had been "a hard lifestyle". In April 2016, she said she would take a break from music after her tour. She returned to performing two months later, clarifying that she would rather work on a consistent basis than a cycle of touring and resting.
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.
