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Irène Major
Irène Major
Irene Major in Dassault Falcon 2000 private jet
Born (1979-10-22) 22 October 1979 (age 44)
Cameroon
Occupations
  • Singer
  • businesswoman
  • model
  • human rights activist
Years active1994–present
Musical career
Genres
  • Pop

Irène Major (born 22 October 1979) is a British-Cameroonian singer, model and activist.

Personal life

Irène Major was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Growing up, she lived in various locations in Cameroon as part of a military family (her father was in the army).[citation needed]

Irène is married to oil and gas tycoon Sam Malin who is of dual Canadian and British citizenship. She has eight children Samantha (born 2000), Lulu-Marie (born 2007), Pearl (born 2010), Lincoln (born 2011), Mona-Swan (born 2015), Noah (born 2017) ,Mason (born 2018).{{cn|date=December 2019} and Jordan born 2020} She is currently based in the UK, although she was previously based in Paris.[citation needed] She holds the Scottish feudal courtesy title of Lady Hailes.[1][2][3][4][5]

In 2012, Ingress Abbey was purchased by Irène Major, and was converted back into its original use as a family home.[6]

The European Communication School (ECS) awarded to Irène an Honorary Degree of Master in Communication in 2017.

Career

In Cameroon, Irène was a regular feature of the catwalk (she was Miss Lions Cameroon 1995), an occasional radio presenter and had parts in various films.[citation needed] From Cameroon, she moved first to Paris, France and then to the United Kingdom.[7]

Internationally, Irène has worked as a model and in film, TV shows, music videos and commercials, with roles credited and uncredited.[citation needed] She has appeared in Die Another Day, Ali G Indahouse, World of Our Own – Westlife, Black Betty by Tom Jones,[8] as the presenter of Ess'mode par Irene Major,[9] a guest judge on The One,[10] and as an on-screen hostess on the V Graham Norton show.[11] In 2015, she appeared in Million Pound Properties [12] and Britain's Flashiest Families, in 2016, in Shock Docs: Britain's Pushiest Parents[13][14] and Too Posh To Parent,[citation needed] and in 2017, Billionaire Babies: 24 Carat Kids.[citation needed] Irène is the model for a display mannequin in the Drama Diva collection by Rootstein.[15][16]

Philanthropy and Causes

Irène Major is involved with various philanthropic and human rights causes. In 2008, she founded IM Life, a charity with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa and the western Indian Ocean, to provide support, including food, shelter, training and logistics support, to those in desperate need.[17] She is also the founder of the Gay in Africa Foundation, a campaign which exists to boost awareness of the persecution and suffering of the African LGBT community and fight against homophobia and discrimination against the LGBT in Africa [18][19][20][21][22][23][24].

Irène is an ambassador for International Harbor, a charity founded by former US special operations veterans dedicated to eliminating human trafficking and abduction through advocacy and action [25] and works with other charities including African Revival and several organisations combatting FGM in sub-Saharan Africa.

Major

Irène set up the pop group Major in 2012 with her sister Elsa. They have released a number of songs and videos:

Love Me Boy (written by Pete Kirtley)
Romeo (written by Pete Bellotte and Sylvester Levay, original performer: Donna Summer)[26]
Birds (written by Irene Major)[27]
Cannes Cannes Cannes (written by Pete Hammond and Jeff Chegwin)[28]
Umqombothi - African Heroes (original version written by Sello "Chicco" Twala and Attie van Wyk and performed by Yvonne Chaka Chaka)[29]

Major toured the UK in 2013 and, in 2014, Major participated in The X Factor (UK series 11) and made it through to the final 28 contestants (the six-seat challenge at bootcamp) with Louis Walsh as mentor.[12]

References

  1. ^ Sturt, Sarah. "Meet the owners of Ingress Abbey in Greenhithe". Kent Life. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  2. ^ "Lady Hailes stars on the X Factor". East Lothian Courier.
  3. ^ "Burke's Peerage - The Official Website".
  4. ^ "Meet the new owners of Burke's Peerage". Tatler. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  5. ^ Wallop, Harry (2017-04-15). "Welcome to our stately pile". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  6. ^ http://www.kent-life.co.uk/people/meet_the_owners_of_ingress_abbey_in_greenhithe_1_3759918 Meet the owners of Ingress Abbey in Greenhithe
  7. ^ Greg Miles. "Sisters are doing it for themselves in a Major way". Kent News.
  8. ^ The Sun - Sunday Magazine Article by John Marr "Sex Bomb - You Betty" 2002
  9. ^ "Les sœurs Major à la porte de la RTA". Actualité en direct avec L'Express de Madagascar. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. ^ Prezzo hooks up with Cameroonian beauty - Entertainment News
  11. ^ V Graham Norton episodes 2.27 2.31, 2.40, 2.41, 3.36, 3.43, 5.39 amongst others
  12. ^ a b "Sam Malin and Irene Major's Principal House in Essex goes on sale for £1m". This is Money. 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Sex or Shopping? Tough choice! Preview: Britain's Flashiest Families - Real Life - Tragic, Funny, Strange & Uplifting Stories from the UK - Daily Star". Dailystar.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Britain's Pushiest Parents". Channel 5. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  15. ^ "Rootstein Display Mannequins - DI01". Rootstein Display Mannequins. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  16. ^ "The World's Best Photos of irene and rootstein - Flickr Hive Mind". hiveminer.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  17. ^ "Singing sisters aim for major success".
  18. ^ "Irene Major Launches Campaign to Bring Awareness to LGBT Abuse in Africa".
  19. ^ "L'Egalité De Droit Face A L'Amour Au Cameroun By Irène Major".
  20. ^ Many, Abesi; o (2017-06-14). "Model Citizen: Irene Major Sheds Light on LGBT Abuse and Violence in Africa. | Think Pynk". THINKPYNK.COM. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  21. ^ Championing LGBT rights in Africa
  22. ^ Use of culture to deny universal rights is unacceptable
  23. ^ "Kinnaka's Blog". Kinnaka's Blog. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  24. ^ Sellu, Katie (2017-07-13). "Irene Major's Faith Is Re- Shaping Tradition". Her Faith. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  25. ^ "The Queen of Ingress". ModeMaison PR Publishing Group.
  26. ^ Abigail Dede (12 September 2013). "Major - The beautiful and bi-lingual music duo return". FLAVOURMAG.
  27. ^ "Nothing found for Magazine 4574334751 Tags Major". Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  28. ^ Major Empire. "Major releases new single - Cannes Cannes Cannes". PRLog.
  29. ^ Major Empire. "Major Releases Single: Umqombothi - African Heroes". PRLog.

External links

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