George Shelley is estimated to be worth £500,000. He was born in Clevedon, North Somerset to Toni Harris and Dominic Shelley on July 27, 1993. Helped by his grandfather, Shelley learnt to play the guitar when he was 13.
In 2011, he graduated with a BTEC Extended Diploma in Graphic Design from Weston-super-Mare’s Weston College.
How did this Graphic Design student rise to stardom?
While working in Costa Coffee as a Barista, Shelley tried out as a solo artist with an acoustic rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for The X Factor in May 2012. Eliminated at bootcamp, he was recalled and made to join the boy band Triple J (comprising Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett and Jaymi Hensley), which became Union J with his inclusion. The group made fourth place on The X Factor, losing on December 2 in the semi-finals.
Union J soon went on to win Best British Breakthrough at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards in 2013 and slowly began earning fame while bringing celebrity status to Shelley, the youngest member of the British pop group. In June 2013, they released their debut single “Carry You” through RCA Records’ Sony Music, which went on to peak at six in Britain. The following October emerged their studio album Union J.
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Shelley also made an appearance in the movie Kick-Ass 2 (2013) along with his Union J compadres. The year also saw Union J release their autobiography Our Story: Union J 100% Official (October 2013) through Penguin Books.
The band then struck a deal with Epic Records in April 2014, releasing their lead single “Tonight (We Live Forever)” in August, which entered at ninth position in Britain. Soon after followed You got It All – The Album, their second studio album.
Shelley was one of the 13 participants on the 15th series of the Ant & Dec led I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! contest in 2015.
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