Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini (née Tweedy, formerly Cole; born 30 June 1983) is an English recording artist, dancer, and television personality who is known by the mononym Cheryl in the context of her recording promotions. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud. The group's line-up remained the same throughout their history and during that time the group achieved a string of twenty consecutive top ten singles in the United Kingdom (including four number one singles) and six platinum albums (two of which went to number one) and earned five BRIT Award nominations from 2005 to 2010. In 2009, Girls Aloud won "Best Single" with their song "The Promise". In early 2013, Girls Aloud announced that they had split up.

Cole embarked on a solo career and released her first solo studio album 3 Words (2009). The album became a commercial success and spawned three successful singles including the lead single from the album, "Fight for This Love," which debuted at number one on the UK charts, becoming the best selling single of the year. 2010 saw the release of Cole's second studio album Messy Little Raindrops, which produced two singles, the first being "Promise This" which also debuted at number one. Cole released her third solo album A Million Lights on 18 June 2012, with lead single "Call My Name" becoming her third number one single. Only Human was released in 2014 and spawned three singles including "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care". Both singles went to number one in the UK and made Cole the only British female to have five number ones in the UK.

Cole has become a recognised and photographed style icon; referred to as a fashionista by the press. She has been photographed for the covers of British Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, while becoming the new face of cosmetic company L'Oréal. Cole was married to England footballer Ashley Cole from July 2006 until September 2010, when she divorced him following the announcement of their separation earlier that year. Cole became a judge on the UK version of The X Factor in 2008, becoming the winning judge twice out of the three series she judged. In 2011, Cole left the UK version of The X Factor to judge the American version. However, Cole left the show during the auditions stage, fueling rumours that she had been sacked. Cole's net worth was estimated at £20 million in October 2014. On 10 March 2014, it was announced that Cole would return as a judge on the U.K. version of The X Factor for its eleventh series, signing a £1.5 million contract.