Zayn Malik

Yes, Zain Javadd Malik, who is professionally known as Zayn, is part Asian. The English singer and songwriter was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Aside from English, Zayn also speaks Urdu and he can read Arabic. He was raised Muslim and has been a target of anti-Muslim attacks.

Zayn was born in Bradford on January 12, 1993 to Yaser Malik and Tricia Brannan Malik. Yaser and Tricia have three daughters namely Doniya Malik, Waliyha Malik and Safaa Malik and Zayn is the second child.

Tricia is of English and Irish descent. She converted to Islam upon her marriage to Yaser, who is a British Pakistani or a U.K. citizen whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan.

From 2008 to 2009, Zayn did boxing. In 2010, he successfully auditioned for “The X Factor” Season 7 in Manchester, England.

Before the final round of “The X Factor” Season 7, Zayn was eliminated but Judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger brought him back along with fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson to compete in the remainder of the show. The group eventually called One Direction.

After finishing third in the show, One Direction went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in history. In 2015, Zayn left the group.

On March 25, 2016, RCA Records released “Mind of Mine,” Zayn’s debut studio album as a solo artist. Among the songs from the album are “Pillowtalk,” “It’s You,” “Befour,” “She” and “Wrong” featuring Kehlani Ashley Parrish, who is mononymously known as Kehlani.

Zayn met Gigi Hadid on the set of his music video for “Pillowtalk.” She gave birth to their first child in September 2020.

In December 2011, Zayn started dating Little Mix member Perrie Edwards. They got engaged in August 2013 but they broke up in July 2015.

On December 14, 2018, RCA Records released Zayn’s second solo studio album titled “Icarus Falls.” The album has several collaboration songs including  “Too Much” featuring Timothy Zachary “Timbaland” Mosley and “No Candle No Light” featuring Onika Tanya “Nicki Minaj” Maraj-Petty.