# Eliot Sumner

Eliot Paulina Sumner (born 30 July 1990) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. They are the child of musician Sting and actress Trudie Styler.
They began their music career at a young age and signed a record deal with Island Records at 17. Sumner released their debut album The Constant in 2010 under the name I Blame Coco. They have acted in films and TV shows, including The Gentlemen and No Time to Die, and Ripley on Netflix in 2024. They were nominated for Best Newcomer at the Virgin Media Music Awards in 2010.

## Early life and education

Eliot Paulina Sumner was born on 30 July 1990 in Pisa, Italy to actress Trudie Styler and musician Sting (Gordon Sumner). They grew up in Wiltshire, England, and were educated at Bryanston School and then the Fine Arts College in London.
They grew up at Lake House, the family estate near Stonehenge. Eliot has two brothers (Jake and Giacomo), a sister (Mickey), an older half-brother (Joe), and a half-sister (Kate). Their family gave Sumner the nickname "Coco". Drawn to the outdoors, Sumner spent a lot of time alone in the woods. Their family gave Eliot their first guitar at age four or five.

## Music career
### I Blame Coco

Sumner began writing songs at the age of 15, and signed a multi-record deal with Island Records at age 17.
They spent six months writing and recording a debut album, The Constant (2010), in Sweden with producer Klas Åhlund, keyboardist Emlyn Maillard, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Al Shux under the band name I Blame Coco. The album included elements of pop music, electronic music, ska, and punk. The first single, "Caesar", featured Swedish pop singer Robyn. The next single, "Self Machine", was released in July 2010.
According to Christian Wåhlberg, Sumner's manager, Åhlund, had been keen to work with Sumner because he saw the "punk rocker" in them. Wåhlberg said that the electropop sound of the album was influenced by Darcus Beese, president of Island Records, and that if Sumner had signed to a different record label, the music would have been different.
After recording and touring with I Blame Coco, they lived alone in a cottage in the Lake District of England and became interested in house music.

### Solo career

Sumner sang a cover version of the Radiohead song "Creep" with Clint Mansell for the soundtrack to the movie Filth (2013).
In 2014, Sumner said their music would be released under their birth name, Eliot Sumner. Later that year, they released the EP Information, and in 2016 the full album Information appeared. Sumner's contributions to other musicians' albums include vocals for the song "End of the Road" by Sway and the single "Splash" by Sub Focus.

### DJ

As of 2016, Sumner was also working as a DJ in European dance clubs under the moniker "Vaal".

## Acting career

Sumner appeared briefly in the films Me Without You (2001) and Stardust (2007). They made their adult acting debut in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen in 2020. They appeared in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021).
They played a hiker in the thriller Infinite Storm, appearing before Naomi Watts' character began hiking to the summit of Mt. Washington.
In December 2021, Sumner was cast in Showtime's drama series Ripley in a recurring role. Sumner plays Freddie, a male character. Ripley was initially announced to be broadcast on Showtime, but in February 2023, it was reported that the series would be moving to Netflix. It was released on 4 April 2024.
Sumner plays the role of hitwoman Kat in the Swedish crime/thriller series Vargasommar (Cry Wolf). The series airs on the Swedish channel TV4 and premiered 25 December 2024.

## Personal life

Sumner fractured their skull in a freak accident in an LA restaurant in 2009, and spent four days in intensive care.
In December 2015, Sumner said that they did not believe in gender labels and did not identify with a particular gender. They use gender-neutral pronouns.

## Awards and honours

* I Blame Coco was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Virgin Media Music Awards in 2010.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | UK | AUT | BEL (VL) | BEL (WA) | FRA | GER | POL | SWI |
| The Constant (as I Blame Coco) | Released: 8 November 2010 Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download | 86 | 58 | 82 | 88 | 41 | 31 | 36 | 72 |
| Information | Released: 22 January 2016 Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download | — | — | — | — | — | 99 | — | — |
| Nosferatu (as Vaal) | Released: 25 January 2019 Label: Pale Blue Dot Formats: Vinyl | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | UK | BEL (VL) | BEL (WA) | GER | Album |
| "Caesar" (featuring Robyn) | 2010 | — | — | — | — | The Constant |
| "Selfmachine" | 2010 | 64 | 53 | 93 | 56 | The Constant |
| "Quicker" | 2010 | — | 91 | — | — | The Constant |
| "In Spirit Golden" | 2010 | — | — | — | — | The Constant |
| "Turn Your Back on Love" | 2011 | — | — | — | — | The Constant |
| "Information" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | Information |
| "I Followed You Home" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | Information |
| "Dead Arms & Dead Legs" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | Information |
| "After Dark" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | Information |
| "Firewood" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | Information |
| "Species" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | Information |

#### As featured artist

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | UK | UK Dance | Album |
| "Animal" (with Miike Snow) | 2009 | 98 | — | Miike Snow |
| "Splash" (with Sub Focus) | 2010 | 41 | 7 | Sub Focus |

#### Other: Remixes

* Eliot Sumner – After Dark (Mr Tophat's Alterned 303 Remix)
* Eliot Sumner – After Dark (Dixon Remix)
* Eliot Sumner – Firewood – Lakker Remix

## Music videos

| Year | Title | Director |
| 2010 | "Caesar" | Hope Audikana |
| 2010 | "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" | Tom & Tabitha |
| 2010 | "Splash" | Nick Frew |
| 2010 | "Self Machine" | Alex Smith |
| 2010 | "Quicker" | China Moo-Young |
| 2010 | "In Spirit Golden" | Hope Audikana |
| 2014 | "Information" | Eliot Lee Hazel |
| 2015 | "Dead Arms & Dead Legs" | tech wizards, Flat-E |
| 2015 | "After Dark" | tech wizards, Flat-E |
| 2015 | "Firewood" | tech wizards, Flat-E |
| 2015 | "Species" | tech wizards, Flat-E |
| 2015 | "I Followed You Home" | |