Biography
girli, born Amelia Kate Woodward Toomey on December 6, 1997, is an English singer, rapper, and songwriter from northwest London[4]. Raised by actor parents and half-Australian, she attended Hampstead School in Cricklewood, an experience she has described as the worst five years of her life due to bullying that fed into lasting anxiety[4]. Even so, she stayed active at school, serving as Deputy Young MP for Camden in 2012 and spending lunch periods playing instruments[4].
She wrote her first song at eight, about a classmate, and at fourteen a Tegan and Sara concert pushed her toward music as a career; it was at that same show that she came out publicly as bisexual[4]. She began performing under her given name, Milly Toomey, at open mics and fronted an indie rock band called Ask Martin before going solo when her bandmates left for university[4]. She studied at East London Arts & Music college from 2014 to 2016, where she developed an interest in beatmaking, rap, and drum and bass that would shape her genre-blending sound[4].
Her debut single as girli arrived in 2015, and PMR Records signed her that October. Her debut album, "Odd One Out," followed in April 2019; she was dropped by her label later that year, regrouped with the independent EP "Ex Talk" in 2021, and released her second album, "Matriarchy," in 2024[4]. Her sound has been described as a blend of PC Music-indebted production, bubblegum pop, pop punk, and rap, and her songwriting consistently returns to feminism, sexuality, queer identity, and mental health[4]. She has spoken openly about living with obsessive-compulsive disorder and taking antidepressants, and is also a skateboarder[4].
Her third studio album, "it's just my opinion," arrived on May 8, 2026 via Believe Music, marking a stylistic pivot toward a rawer, more grounded sound compared to the shimmering maximalism of her earlier work[3][5]. The album's fourth single, "Squirm," produced by Jack Bowden, was released on March 31, 2026[1][2]. Its rollout coincided with plans for girli's first tour in two years, including UK record store and venue dates and a run of North American shows beginning at Brooklyn's Baby's All Right[3].
References
- girli – Squirm — EUPHORIA. coverage of the single, prior singles, and album context.
- girli – Squirm — FEMMUSIC Magazine coverage of release date, production credits, and album release plans.
- girli shares lyric video for new single "squirm" and ahead of new album — Rare Moments Media piece on the single, the album's stylistic pivot, and girli's upcoming tour dates.
- Girli (Wikipedia) — Biographical background on upbringing, early career, coming out, mental health, and musical evolution.
- It's Just My Opinion (Wikipedia) — Album details including track listing, release date, and production credits.