Background and Age

Paul Potts was born in Kingswood and raised in nearby Fishponds by his father, Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne, a supermarket cashier. He grew up with two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choirs at Chester Park Junior School and several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he was often bullied in school, which has caused lifelong problems with his self-confidence, but he always found solace in music. After he left school in 1987, Potts had various jobs, including working at Waitrose and Tesco, as well as part-time at Debenhams.

Relationships

Paul admits to being a timid person. Because of his shyness, he first interacted with his first girlfriend and current wife Julie-Ann through an internet chat room. They seemed to hit it off instantly. Julie was the first woman to click with him, and he still stops to thank his lucky stars for getting her to fall in love with him. Julie-Ann and Paul started chatting in 2003, and Paul sent a photo of himself to increase her trust in him. After talking online for a month, they both decided to take a step forward by meeting in real life. Paul said he was more nervous in an interview because he had never seen Julie, but Julie had seen him.

Julie was already proud and ecstatic about Paul's achievements before he eventually won Britain's Got Talent and rocketed to fame. Nobody, including his colleagues, knew about Paul's singing talent, but Julie was the one who encouraged him to take his career seriously. The couple has been married for over a decade now but have yet to have any children.

Career and Net Worth

In 1999, Paul Potts first sang opera in the minor role of Herald in Puccini's Turandot for Bath Opera, an amateur company. He then performed leading roles on four different occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's Don Carlos in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's Aida in 2003. He also performed the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Paul sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured northern Italy as a soloist as part of music classes.

Paul Potts became famous for his singing when he won the first season of Britain's Got Talent and recorded his first album, One Chance, which became a sensational hit and topped the sales charts in more than ten countries, selling more than 3.5 million records. At the time of his Britain's Got Talent appearance, he was working at The Carphone Warehouse.

America's Got Talent: The Champions

Potts participated in America's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, reaching the final twelve but failing to make the top five finalists.

Health

Potts experienced several setbacks during his career. Doctors had to remove an adrenal tumor they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix; shortly afterwards, he broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003.