Everything to Know About the Singer’s Mom and Stepdad

Lola Young grew up around music, thanks to her supportive (and artistic!) family.

The singer, who rose to fame with her viral 2024 hit “Messy,” was raised in south London by her mother and stepfather, per ELLE UK. In a September 2025 cover story for the outlet, the singer opened up about her upbringing, explaining that they are partly to thank for her pursuing a career in music.

“I didn’t grow up with loads of money,” she said. “My mum and stepdad are proud, and I support them where I can. I’m from a musical household and started piano early. A lot has changed, but so much has stayed the same. I have the same friends, the same family, the same sisters stealing my clothes. That grounds me.”

Young went on to discuss navigating fame, and why it’s important to her not to lose sight of where she came from.

“I never want to let the glitz and glamour take my head to a different place,” she said. “You can get swept away quickly – it’s terrifying.”

From where they raised her to how they influenced the singer’s music, here’s everything to know about Lola Young’s parents.

They raised Young in London alongside three sisters

Young was born in a town in England called Croydon, though grew up in southeast London, where she still lives near her family, per Rolling Stone.

According to The New York Times, she was raised alongside three sisters. Little is known about their lives as they remain out of the spotlight.

Her parents have musical backgrounds

Young isn’t the only artistic one in her family. According to ELLE UK, Young’s stepfather was a professional bass player, who also ran salsa nights alongside Young’s mother, who works at the mental health charity Mind, per The Telegraph.

According to Rolling Stone, her mother constantly played music around the house, and enrolled Young in piano, guitar and singing lessons when she was 6 years old.

“Coming from an artistic family was really helpful because they understood that music is a real job, that I can make money from it,” Young told The Telegraph in February 2022. “I never had a plan B.”

They enrolled her at the BRIT School

The singer went on to attend the BRIT School, a performing arts institution known to be attended by musicians like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Jessie J, Leona Lewis and King Krule.

“I was very much sceptical because BRIT holds up to be a very prestigious school. It’s got a legacy, but I think for me, it was more in the sense of like, I didn’t know what was going to come out of it. But I was very excited,” the singer told the outlet of her time at the school, which she said had a “vibrancy.”

Young also discussed how the school opened her eyes “in terms of the social-political realm of the world,” given that there was “drag” and “guys walking around in dresses and doing their makeup.”

“It was massively eye-opening at the time,” she said.

Young has addressed rumors that her hit song “Messy” is about her parents

Young’s hit song “Messy” has long been speculated to be about her parents, though the singer explained to BeatRoute Media in August 2024 that it could have many different meanings.

“‘Messy’ is interesting because it feels like it could be about a friend or my mom,” she said. “You know, ‘I’m too messy and I’m too clean. You told me to get a job, and you know where the hell I’ve been.’ It could be about anybody. It’s not necessarily a relationship song.”

During a January 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Young addressed the rumors directly and further discussed where she drew inspiration for the track.

“It’s been speculated that it’s about my parents. It’s massively about some close family but it’s a combination,” she said. “It’s more about myself, I am too messy. I’ve never held a broom in my life. Everything in my life is a mess so it’s a very fitting track.”

Young added, “It’s about the complexities of how I feel about myself, and on top of that, narcissistic men, unfortunately.”

Her great aunt is a famous children’s book author

In a March 2025 interview with Capital Buzz, Young addressed claims that she is a nepo baby, given that her great aunt, Julia Donaldson, is a famous children’s book author.

“Some people are saying I’m a nepo baby because my great aunt wrote The Gruffalo,” she said. “I mean what kind of rubbish is that?”

“I have so much to say on that which I can’t even talk about,” she said. “But I’m not a nepo baby, I’m not an industry plant, there we go I said it. I’ve cleared that up for you losers that want to comment rubbish on the internet.”