Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Susan Boyle as a Child Looked Like Shirley Temple's Sister
This pic confirms Susan Boyle's always had those curls.
Did this little girl know she'd grow up to be a star? Before Susan Boyle broke out as a singer on Britain's Got Talent, she was a youngster growing up in Blackburn, a Scottish town of under 6,000 residents. In a childhood photo, taken when Boyle was seemingly around 4 years old, she beams at the camera while perched on am armchair, her hair styled into ringlets (she's wearing a striped pinafore dress). If you didn't know better, you might think she was Shirley Temple's sister. Check out the black-and-white snap of young Boyle here.
Susan Boyle's long journey to the stage
After her 2009 BGT audition went viral, Boyle didn't actually win the season, but it didn't matter; she'd already won over legions of fans. As she acknowledged in that first audition, she was a somewhat unlikely star, but she had the most important skill: determination.
RELATED: Susan Boyle Covered This Madonna Classic in a Way You've Never Heard Before
“I began going to auditions – and I was knocked back countless times. Rather than let it knock me down, I just stopped listening to the no’s and kept going back. I was a bit like a bad smell – I just wouldn’t go away," Boyle told Revive magazine of her first forays into entertainment. “I spent a lot of my younger years performing in working men’s clubs, which is where I learnt the most. It was like my training ground, and I learnt a lot about people and performing.”
She's now sold over 25 million albums.
Susan Boyle's spirituality
Boyle credits her faith for helping her through life's tougher times. “Without God, you can do nothing," she told Catholic Sun in 2014. "The kind of gift he’s given me, I have to use for the benefit of others.”
“At times of great stress — when my mother died — I turn to Mary for support,” Boyle said. “I do have a special relationship with Mary, Mother of God, because she’s our spiritual mother.” Appropriately, she's recorded a number of Christmas covers and songs with Christian themes.
RELATED: Susan Boyle & Jackie Evancho's Prayer Duet Is the Definition of Glorious
One of these is "O Come, All Ye Faithful," a "duet" with the late Elvis Presley. According to Metro, she got the OK to use Elvis Presley's voice from his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, thanks to AGT's Simon Cowell. "It was actually Simon Cowell’s idea and he messaged Priscilla to get permission," Boyle revealed. "My dad and my whole family were Elvis fans and she gave me permission. I do sometimes feel his presence when I sing the song, but who wouldn’t? I think he would be quite excited about the duet."
