Shane Filan facts: Westlife singer's age, wife, children, height and more revealed

26 November 2021, 12:20 | Updated: 19 January 2022, 16:54

Shane Filan is one of the most successful pop singers of all time thanks to his many hits with Westlife.

Westlife are back with new music after over half a decade away, and here's all the important facts you need to know about Shane:

1. Who is Shane Filan and what are his biggest songs?

   

   Shane Filan - Beautiful In White (Official Video)

   Shane Filan is an Irish singer-songwriter, who is best known as one of the two lead singers and frontman of Westlife.

   He has also released three solo albums: You and Me (2013), Right Here (2015) and Love Always (2017).

   His biggest solo hit was his debut 'Everything to Me', which reached number 14 in the UK and seven in Ireland in 2013.

2. Shane Filan age: How old is he?

   Shane Filan was born on July 5, 1979. He celebrated his 42nd birthday in 2021.

   He was born in Sligo, Ireland, and is the son to Peter and Mae Filan (née McNicholas)

   Before he was born, his mother had complications during her pregnancy and almost miscarried him twice.

   He has six siblings; three brothers and three sisters, and he is the youngest.

3. Shane Filan wife and family: Is he married?

   View this post on Instagram

   Great day with the family yesterday at #daddyshome2 premier in Dublin Such a hilarious Christmas movie!🎄

   A post shared by Shane Filan (@shanefilanofficial) on Nov 16, 2017 at 7:23am PST

   Shane married his childhood sweetheart, Gillian Walsh in 2003.

   Gillian is actually the cousin of fellow Westlife member Kian Egan, making Filan and Egan cousins-in-law.

   They have three children together: daughter Nicole Rose (born 2005) and sons Patrick Michael, (born 2008) and Shane Peter (born 2010), named after his father.

4. How were Westlife formed?

   

   Westlife - Flying Without Wings (Official Video)

   Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan were already schoolmates at Summerhill College on Sligo, Ireland.

   All three sang in a school production of Grease, alongside Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron, and Michael Garrett. They later said that they consider this as the start of Westlife.

   All six members formed a group called Six as One in 1997. They later changed their band name to IOYOU.

   Louis Walsh, who was also the manager of Boyzone, discovered the group after he was contacted by Filan's mother Mae, but the group didn't land a BMG record deal with Simon Cowell.

   Cowell told Walsh: "You are going to have to fire at least three of them. They have great voices, but they are the ugliest band I have ever seen in my life."

   Three members (Lacey, Keighron and Garrett) were told to leave, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited.

5. Shane Filan height: How tall is he?

   Shane Filan stands at around 5ft 7 ½ (171.5 cm) tall.