Mahalia is from Syston, Charnwood, in Leicestershire.[4][5][6] Her father is British-Irish and her mother is Jamaican.[7] She attended Roundhill Community College and at Birmingham Ormiston Academy .[8] As a child she would often spend her summer breaks at home writing music[citation needed]—she wrote her first song at age eight and signed a deal with a major record label at age 13.[5][9]