Irène Major

Irène Major (born 22 October 1979) is a British-Cameroonian singer, model and activist.

Irène Major
Major in 2015
Born	(1979-10-22) 22 October 1979 (age 45) Cameroon
Occupations	Singer businesswoman model human rights activist
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Sam Malin
Children	9
Musical career
Genres	Pop

Personal life

Major was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon to a soldier father and seamstress mother; the family was "middle-class but poor".^[1]

Major is married to oil and gas tycoon Sam Malin who is of dual Canadian and British citizenship. She has nine children.^[2] In 2012, the couple purchased Ingress Abbey, subsequently converted for use as a family home.^[3]

Career

From Cameroon, Major moved first to Paris, France and then to the United Kingdom.^[4]

Major has appeared as the presenter of Ess'mode par Irene Major,^[5] a guest judge on The One,^[6] and as an on-screen hostess on the V Graham Norton show.^[7] In 2015, she appeared in Britain's Flashiest Families, and in 2016, in Shock Docs: Britain's Pushiest Parents.^[8] Major is the model for a display mannequin in the Drama Diva collection by Rootstein.^[9][10]

Major set up the pop group Major in 2012 with her sister Elsa. They have released a number of songs and videos:^{[citation needed]}

• Love Me Boy (written by Pete Kirtley)
• Romeo (written by Pete Bellotte and Sylvester Levay, original performer: Donna Summer)^[11]
• Birds (written by Irene Major)^[12]
• Cannes Cannes Cannes (written by Pete Hammond and Jeff Chegwin)^[13]
• Umqombothi - African Heroes (original version written by Sello "Chicco" Twala and Attie van Wyk and performed by Yvonne Chaka Chaka)^[14]

Philanthropy

Major is involved with various philanthropic and human rights causes. In 2008, she founded IM Life, a charity with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa and the western Indian Ocean, to provide support, including food, shelter, training and logistics support, to those in desperate need.^[15] She is also the founder of the Gay in Africa Foundation, a campaign which exists to boost awareness of the persecution and suffering of the African LGBT community and fight against homophobia and discrimination against the LGBT in Africa.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Major is an ambassador for International Harbor, a charity founded by former US special operations veterans dedicated to eliminating human trafficking and abduction through advocacy and action. ^[23]