He could have just stayed a handsome guy in a boy band. But that wasn’t enough for Harry Styles. Today he is a megastar and a role model.
It all started with Barney the church mouse. “I remember playing this mouse in a play in first grade,” says Harry Styles, 28. “I wore tights for the role — and I realized how much I loved it.” At home, too, he always liked to slip into different costumes, most of which his mother made herself – or he put on his mother’s clothes straight away.
Harry Styles breaks down supposed boundaries
Today, Harry Styles has long since become a style icon. He wears whatever he likes, launched a gender-neutral beauty line, loves pearl necklaces, paints his nails or slips on a tutu. He never looks disguised – on the contrary: a casual young man who has naturally discarded gender boundaries, as if they had never existed. “When you put up barriers in your life, you only limit yourself,” he says.
He even enchants stars like Robbie Williams
Even as part of the boy band One Direction, with which Harry was discovered in 2010 as a 16-year-old on the talent show “The X Factor” and advanced to an international teenage heartthrob, he stood out because he was different. To questions like: “What three things do you look for on a date?”, he could have answered clumsily with “chest, legs, bottom”. But Harry said, “Eyes. Voice. Character.” Wow!
“Harry has enchanted the world because he is Harry,” says Robbie Williams, 48, himself a former boy band star, appreciatively. And Harry’s great idol Mick Jagger, 78, attests him: “Not only does he look great and can sing well, he’s a great boy.”
The singer convinces with his energy
One Direction, the most successful British boy band since the Beatles, sold around 50 million albums in five years. In 2015, however, the boys needed a break from the life of success in the fast lane. The break turned into a breakup. Harry, however, got off to a brilliant start in his solo career in 2017 – as a singer and also as an actor. Star director Christopher Nolan, 51, cast him for his World War II drama “Dunkirk”. On the set, Harry convinced everyone with his discipline and friendly manner: “He has a very special energy,” says Nolan. “Everything seems easy for him.”
Despite all the ease with which he moves through life, he is also profound. On his album “Fine Line”, for example, he reflects on what success really means to him. “If you do what makes you happy, nobody can tell you that you are not successful,” Harry said. The song “Watermelon Sugar” will be an absolute summer hit in 2018. Harry: “He’s like me: happy and free.”
This is the secret to Harry’s positivity
How come Harry Styles has such a positive vibe? He says it’s because he meditates twice a day. “That’s how I stay present and can enjoy life.”
Enjoy the moment and take it seriously – even in love, this ability also inspires his girlfriend Olivia Wilde, 38. The actress and mother of two says: “I’m happier today than I’ve ever been.”
Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles
© Neil Mockford/GC Images / Getty Images
His motto in life: Treat people kindly. That’s the name of one of his songs, and that’s how he presents himself at performances and on social media. “I believe in karma, in everything coming back to you. We need more kindness, empathy and patience with people. We should listen better and be willing to grow,” says Styles, sounding wise as 82, not 28.
Words that his fans enthusiastically absorb. Harry Styles has something to say without coming across as missionary. A new type of man, a free spirit who doesn’t allow himself to be taken over by trends or music management guidelines. That’s why it’s not only loved by teenagers – both girls and boys, by the way – but also by adults. All concerts are sold out for his Germany tour this summer. After all, he also makes good music.