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Zayn Malik Zain Javadd 'ZAYN' Malik, born January 12, 1993(age 22), is from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. His father, Yaser Malik, is British Pakistani, and his mother, Tricia (née Brannan) Malik, is of Irish and English descent. He has one older sister, Doniya, and two younger sisters, Waliyha and Safaa.

Early Life: He grew up in East Bowling, was a pupil at Lower Fields Primary School, and went to Tong High School, a state comprehensive school. Malik did not fit in at his first two schools due to his mixed heritage. Malik has stated that he started taking pride in his appearance after moving schools at the age of twelve. Upon auditioning for The X Factor, he stated: "I was looking for an experience". He cites urban music as his main musical influence, growing up, he was into R&B and rap. He as well as other members of One Direction further notes artists such as Bruno Mars, as a "dream collaborator."

Music Career: (1) The X Factor: In 2010, Styles auditioned as a solo candidate for the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor. He failed to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges' houses." Four others in his age group did as well, but after a suggestion by Nicole Scherzinger, a guest judge,they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, in London, England, in July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the competition, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Subsequently, the group got together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practice. Styles came up with the name One Direction. For their qualifying song at "judges' houses", and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn". Simon Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group "were confident, fun, like a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well."Within the first four weeks of the live shows, they were Cowell's last act in the competition. The group quickly gained popularity in the UK.

One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet. Shortly afterwards it was confirmed that One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2 million Syco Records record contract. Recording for their debut album began in January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with RedOne, a record producer. A book licensed by One Direction, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was published by HarperCollins in February 2011, subsequently topping The Sunday Times Best Seller list. The same month, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour. During the tour the group performed for 500,000 people throughout the UK. After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album. Recording took place in Stockholm, London and Los Angeles, as One Direction worked with producers Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub, among others. Styles came up with band name One Direction, which he thought would sound good when The X Factor announcer Peter Dickson read their name out on the live shows.

(2) One Direction: Following The X Factor, One Direction were signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment in 2010. One Direction released their first studio album, Up All Night, in 2011, followed by their second, Take Me Home, in 2012. One Direction: This Is Us, a documentary about the band directed by Morgan Spurlock, was released in August 2013. The film grossed more than $30 million worldwide its first weekend in theaters. The band's third studio album, Midnight Memories, was released on 25 November 2013. The band release their fourth studio album Four in 2014.

Personal Life: Zayn smokes cigarettes. In late 2011, he announced that his New Year's resolution was to quit smoking. However, he was photographed throughout 2012 still smoking. Zayn has stopped smoking ever since early 2013. Malik, along with Styles and Tomlinson, support Manchester United. He also supports Pakistan's national cricket team and once tweeted when Pakistan lost the Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-finals.

In June 2012, Malik's approach to Islam was criticised by blogger Debbie Schlussel, who accused him of advertising Islam to young fans; at the same time, he was criticised, on Twitter, by conservative Muslims, for not taking Islamic doctrine seriously enough. In July 2014, during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Malik tweeted the message "#FreePalestine" to his 13 million Twitter followers, reportedly provoking anger from One Direction fans in Israel. In late May 2014, a video -- recorded in April -- from fellow band member Louis Tomlinson's phone was leaked by The Daily Mail, revealing the two boys alongside other members of their management team smoking cannabis in Peru. The footage additionally contained Zayn insulting the merchandise, stating that both them and the fans are tired of irrelevant facts such as "[Zayn's] favorite color is blue". Liam took it to Twitter to apologize for the boys' behavior, explaining that their young age led them to make these mistakes.

Zayn dated fellow The X Fa​ctor contestant Geneva Lane briefly in 2010. At the time, he was 17 and she was 20. They grew close during their time on the show. However, due to Simon Cowell's strict ban against the contestants dating, they denied there was a relationship. At the season seven finale, they finally revealed themselves as a couple when cameras captured them kissing. Zayn later confirmed on Twitter that they were together. After the break up, Geneva said, "Zayn's a heartbreaker. When I found out he was seeing Rebecca I felt numb." In a November 2011 interview she said that she and Zayn remained friends, but didn't talk much because of his busy schedule. In 2011, Zayn began dating The X Factor's season seven runner-up, Rebecca Ferguson when he was 18, and she was 24. Their relationship drew media attention because of the six year age difference. They met while they were on The X Factor, but Rebecca stated that "It took a while before we looked at each other in a different light. There was no one particular moment, it just evolved over time." Zayn was the one who pursued Rebecca. The relationship ended after four months in July 2011 with Rebecca stating at the time, "Me and Zayn just grew apart. I wish him all the best." However, in an interview in October 2012, Zayn opened up about the relationship by saying, "It shouldn't have happened. It was just a wrong idea from the start. It did end quite badly, so we don't talk any more. We're not in touch at all." Since then, Rebecca has alluded various times that Zayn was unfaithful.

Zayn is currently engaged to Perrie Edwards from The X Factor 's season eight winner, Little Mix. They met when One Direction performed on the eighth season of The X Factor. They were rumored to be dating, but both denied being in a relationship. In May 2012 the rumors appeared to be true when paparazzi snapped pictures of them kissing and riding a scooter. In an interview for Today that aired on May 30, 2012, Zayn confirmed having a girlfriend. On August 18, 2013, after a weekend together, Zayn proposed to her. She displayed the three diamond ring for the first time at One Direction 's This Is Us World Premiere in London. Perrie's mum confirmed the engagement to a radio station and Zayn's spokesperson confirmed that they were in fact engaged, but any other personal detail would not be released. He revealed to fans at a soundcheck in the Australian leg of the Take Me Home Tour that he proposed in front of both his and Perrie's mum and his two best mates in their back garden during a specially set up "Outdoor Movie Night"