Gabrielle shares rare medical issue that means she always keeps one eye covered

09 February 2024 , 19:55

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Gabrielle is known for always having her right eye concealed (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

British singer Gabrielle is known for her trademark look, wearing her sweeping fringe pulled across one eye.

For years, fans have wondered about the Dreams singer's signature look, and Hackney-born Gabrielle has shed light on the situation, comparing showing her eye to going out without underwear on.

During an interview with The Guardian in 2018, while promoting her first album in 11 years, Gabrielle opened up about the piece of fringe placed strategically over her eye. She explained that a dead muscle in her eyelid led to it drooping, and that corrective surgery had left her lid shortened.

Revealing that only those closest to her ever get to see behind the covering, Gabrielle continued: "The idea of going out and showing my eye is like going out without my knickers on. It just wouldn't happen." Before undergoing surgery, Gabrielle's eye would twitch and flicker, and the cruel comments she ensured knocked her self-esteem.

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Offering some insight into how this has affected her self-confidence, Gabrielle shared how her eye made her a target during her schooldays, with the 'witches and b*****' calling her a 'r*****' and asking her to stop winking.

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The condition Gabrielle lives with - ptosis - is when one or both upper eyelids droop over a person's eye, and can result in restricted or blocked vision. In 2019, Gabrielle spoke out again about her hairstyle, which she described as her 'comfort blanket'. She said: "I choose to cover my lazy eye because I don't want it to be seen. It's my comfort blanket and it makes me happy."

When asked whether she'd ever bring the eyepatch back, Gabrielle continued: “The eyepatch, which I only ever used for a year, a lot of people find that hard to believe. [...] It is something I will consider, but I won't say when. Just because, for all these years, nearly quarter of a century, people have associated me with the eyepatch, I think it would be quite a fun thing to do!"

You can catch Gabrielle on The Graham Norton Show this evening (Friday, February 9), at 10:40pm on BBC One. It will then air on BBC One on February 9 at 11:30pm on BBC One. Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , and .

Julia Banim