Jess Folley

Folley was born on 11 May 2003 in Brentwood, Essex.^[1][2] There, she attended St Martin's School.^[3] She then attended the East London Arts and Music Academy.^[1] In 2017, Folley was a contestant on the first series of ITV1's The Voice Kids. Coached by singer Pixie Lott at age 14, she went on to win the competition.^[4] Then in 2019, she auditioned for The X Factor: The Band, after which she was put into the girl group RLY. They went on to win the series.^[5] Folley expressed that the group intended on releasing a musical project that was "new and original" and writing for it started in 2020.^[6] Their first and only extended play (EP), Generation, was released in 2023.^[7]

In 2022, Folley became involved with the stage production Burlesque, an adaptation of the 2010 film by Steven Antin starring Christina Aguilera. She wrote the opening song for the main character, Ali Rose, "Got It All From You".^[8][9] Folley was then invited to portray the role in the workshop, after which she was then cast in the lead role for the show's opening in 2024 at the Manchester Opera House.^[10][11] After a successful run and a short transfer to Glasgow,^[12] she was announced to be reprising the role on the West End at the Savoy Theatre.^[13][14] In 2026, she was cast as Éponine in Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre.^[15]