Hayley Williams’s Early Life:
Hayley Nicole Williams is the lead singer, principal songwriter, and frontwoman of Paramore. She was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on December 27, 1988, at the age of 36.
At the age of 13, Hayley Williams relocated to Franklin, Tennessee, from her hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, in 2002. She met Josh and Zac Farro, who would later become bandmates, while she was a student there. She also started taking singing lessons from Brett Manning shortly after moving to Franklin.
Hayley Williams met bassist Jeremy Davis during an audition for a local funk cover band named The Factory when she was still in school. The official formation of Paramore began when she introduced Jeremy to the Farro brothers. The group struck a deal with John Janick’s company, Fueled by Ramen, in 2005.
In 2003, Hayley Williams was a member of Mammoth City Messengers, a Christian music group, prior to joining Paramore. Sadly, the endeavor failed, and the group broke up in 2004.
Hayley Williams revealed her first solo album, Petals for Armor, on December 27, 2019, her 31st birthday. On May 8, 2020, the album was made available. Her second solo album, a prelude to Petals for Armor, was released on February 5, 2021.
Hayley Williams has also contributed to other tracks as a guest vocalist, such as:
“Fallen” by Death in the Park
“Then Came to Kill”
“Keep Dreaming Upside Down”
“Tangled Up”
“The Church Channel” and “Plea”
“The Few That Remain”
She was also featured on Half Noise’s “As U Wave” and in the music video for “Kiss Me” by New Found Glory.
Hayley Williams came in second to Amy Lee of Evanescence in the “Sexiest Female” category of the 2007 Kerrang! Readers’ Poll. She won first place the next year. In the video game Guitar Hero World Tour, Hayley also makes an appearance as a character.
Hayley Williams’s laryngitis caused certain dates on the Brand New Eyes Fall US Tour to be postponed on October 2. For the film Jennifer’s Body, she wrote the song “Teenagers.” It was never formally released, but Paramore did perform it once.
Later, Hayley starred in the popular singles “Airplanes” and “Airplanes II” by B.o.B., which went on to become enormously popular worldwide. She and Weezer sang “Rainbow Connection” for The Muppets: The Green Album in 2011. She made an appearance on Zedd’s popular song “Stay the Night” in 2013. The song has multiple iTunes remixes.
She had an appearance in the music video and song “Vicious Love” by New Found Glory in 2015. She appeared in the song “Bury It” by CHVRCHES that same year.
Hayley made an appearance in the song “Uncomfortably Numb” by American Football in January 2019. She appeared on Taylor Swift’s song “Castles Crumbling,” the 20th song on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), four years later in 2023.
Hayley said that she has recorded background vocals for Turnstile’s song “Seeing Stars” on April 30, 2025. She appeared on Moses Sumney’s song “I Like It I Like It” on May 8 of that year.
The Cure, Björk, Saves the Day, mewithout You, Whitney Houston, Slick Shoes, The Chariot, Now Now, Radiohead, Every Children, No Doubt, Canon Blue, Fireworks, Set Your Goals, Tegan and Sara, H2O, Lemuria, and The Swellers are among Hayley’s favorite bands and performers.
Hayley has always been a Christian, and her opinions, convictions, and personal challenges are reflected in many of her Paramore songs.
Hayley and Josh Farro, the guitarist for Paramore, acknowledged in Alternative Press issue #255 (September 2009) that they had dated for over three years before to their breakup in the fall of 2007.
“We didn’t know if it would be a bad thing,” Hayley remarked. “We were so young, and it felt like it would just become one big joke,” Josh continued. We didn’t want our relationship to take precedence over the music in the band. Later, in his “Exit Statement,” Josh reaffirmed their relationship.
Members of bands like Fun and The Swellers, as well as other artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Bethany from Best Coast, are all close friends of Hayley.
Hayley and her longtime friend and hairstylist Brian O’Connor have co-owned GoodDYEyoung since 2016.
Hayley and guitarist Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory confirmed their engagement on January 1, 2015. On February 20, 2016, the couple tied the knot. After a year of marriage and after 10 years of dating, Hayley and Chad announced their separation on Instagram on July 1, 2017. Her song “Dead Horse” from Petals for Armor is a reflection of their destructive and unhealthy relationship.
Hayley disclosed that she was in a relationship with songs like “Taken,” “Pure Love,” and “Crystal Clear” following the release of Petals for Armor. She described herself as “deeply in love” in the thank-you card for the record, which was released that same day.
Hayley affirmed that she was in a healthy relationship during her interview with Anna Faris for the Anna Faris Is Unqualified podcast.
Hayley Williams and Taylor York acknowledged their relationship in an interview with The Guardian at the end of 2022.