As a singer, Seal landed hits such as “Killer”, “Crazy” and “Kiss from a Rose”, and in Germany he became known beyond his musical career as the temporary husband of Heidi Klum. But the Brit actually comes from a poor background.
In an interview with the “Guardian”, the 60-year-old spoke about his youth, which was characterized by poverty, violence and homelessness. Seal was born in London to a Nigerian mother and Brazilian father. His real name: Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel. But his mother didn’t want him at first and gave him away when he was a baby. He spent the first four years of his life with a foster family, after which he lived with his father and his new partner.
But the father abused the boy, and as a teenager Seal then fled: “As soon as I was 15, I ran away,” Seal told the “Guardian”. “He gave me one spanking too many and I was gone.” Years ago, the pop star spoke bitterly about his father in an interview: “I always say that my father is my most important role model, because he showed me everything I shouldn’t be.”
After that, today’s star musician somehow managed to get by in London. “I slept on friends’ floors or in homeless shelters,” he said. Nevertheless, Seal, who now advocates for disadvantaged children and young people, looks back on his childhood without resentment. The first years in a loving foster family had a positive impact on him, he told the Guardian. He also owes a lot to a teacher who introduced him to music and gave him his first small performances at school: “During that difficult time in my childhood, he was there. He saw me when few other people did. “
Through his resilience and fighting spirit, Seal managed to gain a foothold in life: first by studying architecture, then as a musician. When he was 23 years old, his girlfriend at the time urged him to start making music. “She said, ‘Go ahead, stop wasting your time.’ I didn’t want to hear it, but it was probably some of the most sound advice I’ve ever received,” the singer recalls.
It was obvious that this was the right career path for Seal: his first two albums in the early nineties reached the top of the British charts, after which he bagged three Grammys, among other things. He is currently on a world tour. In 2005 he married top model Heidi Klum, the couple has three children together, and Seal also adopted Klum’s daughter Leni. Seal and Klum divorced after seven years.
Sources: Guardian / Mirror / Seal
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