With her angelic voice, whimsical-meets-glamour wardrobe, easy breezy stage presence, and now a Grammy Award to her name, it’s so easy to fall in love with pop star Olivia Dean. The 26-year-old singer beat out Sombr, Lola Young, girl group Katseye, and other popular musicians on Sunday night for the coveted Best New Artist trophy at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Olivia’s star has been on a spectacular rise in the last few months in particular following the release of her sophomore album, The Art of Loving, in September 2025, which features her chart-topping single, The Man I Need. While fans are falling head over heels with the songstress who hails from East London, they may be surprised to learn she has a famous family connection who is a major star on Netflix. Any guesses who?
Olivia’s famous cousin
You wouldn’t be able to tell from their last names alone, but Olivia is the cousin of British singer and actor, Ashley Walters, best known for his leading role on the Netflix drama series Top Boy. The TV star, 43, played Dushane on the critically-acclaimed series, which ran for five seasons and aired its final episodes in 2023. As of January 2026, the crime drama series has an average rating of 97 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ashley grew up in Peckham in South East London while his younger cousin Olivia was born and raised in Highams Park, near Walthamstow.
He’s also since starred in the award-winning Netflix miniseries, Adolescence. Ashley played DI Luke Bascombe in the four-part series, for which he received best supporting actor nominations at the Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
Before making a name for himself as an actor, Ashley found success early on in his career in the music industry as part of the 2000s hip hop group, So Solid Crew. “In my family, my auntie’s son was an actor and a musician and a rapper,” Olivia opened up about the musical genes in her family in an October 2025 interview on Ross Golan’s podcast, And The Writer Is…
“I had seen it was kind of possible through him,” Olivia said of how her cousin inspired her own musical aspirations. “So I think my mum was like, well, it can be a job, and you can be successful in it.” She continued: “It’s interesting to think maybe if that hadn’t been the case they might have been like, uh no, you’re going to be a doctor. But I sort of don’t think so. I think that they really recognised like a real love for me in it, and that can only be encouraged.”
Ashley even gave a shout out to his younger cousin more than a decade ago – well before she was selling out shows around the world. The actor shared a link, which has since become unavailable, to his X (formerly Twitter) account in January 2014, writing: “My lil cuz Olivia dean”.
Ashley shows support for Olivia’s first Grammy win
Ashley was a proud cousin as he celebrated Olivia’s Grammy Award win on his social media. The actor shared several posts from the Grammys, including a clip of Olivia’s heartfelt speech when she accepted her award.
© Billboard via Getty Images
© Instagram/ @ashleywalters“I guess I want to say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” the singer said on stage. “I wouldn’t be here… I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
Sharing a post about Olivia taking home the Best New Artist category from the official Grammy Awards account to his Instagram Stories, Ashley said his cousin’s win was “deserved”.
Read the full article here
