Mica Paris has no plans to slow things down as she admits she’s found peace in her 50s and is happily single after a nine-year relationship, saying she’s ‘come back home to herself’
Mica Paris has no plans to fade into the background — even if her last role in EastEnders technically left her behind bars. “ EastEnders was a while ago now,” she laughs as she opens up exclusively to OK!. “Would I ever go back? Well, I’d need to be freed from prison first. I’m not even getting good behaviour!”
The singer and actress appeared in EastEnders in 2020, joining the soap as Ellie Nixon, the manipulative grandmother of Raymond Dawson — the son of Denise Fox and Phil Mitchell. Her character only appeared from September to November 2020, before being written out when Ellie was arrested.
“I didn’t plan any of this acting stuff,” Mica says. “I was nervous at first, but everyone rallied around me. I had such a laugh with Steve McFadden and Diane Parish. They were all fans of my music, which helped, and made me feel right at home.”
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Now, Mica is busier than ever. She’s celebrating 40 years in the industry, 37 years since her debut album So Good , and marking it all with a new album, a duet with Chaka Khan called Stand, and a string of live gigs.
Born Michelle Antoinette Wallen in Islington, north London, in 1969, the singer grew up in south London’s gospel scene before breaking through at just 18 with her first album So Good — a debut that made her one of Britain’s brightest Black female stars.
Since then, Mica has sung for King Charles, received an MBE for services to music, entertainment and charity, presented her own BBC Radio 2 show, mentored the late Amy Winehouse, and performed everywhere from Wembley to Dubai.
But these days Mica’s message is just as fierce as her vocals — and she’s got strong opinions about the current state of British music. “There’s too much grime. We need the music of love again,” she says.
“British culture isn’t niche — it’s mainstream. Caribbean, Irish, Pakistani, working class — that’s the sound of Britain. But where’s the next Mica Paris? We don’t have artist development any more. We need to show the world who we really are.”
She has never been one to mince her words, and she’s rather proud of it. “We came from the 80s, when women weren’t really allowed to talk about their creative projects,” says Mica. “But I don’t give up — if one record company says no, I go to another. The only record company you need is the universe.”
Mica has lived the highs and the heartbreaks of fame — from singing for Nelson Mandela to losing her younger brother to gun crime in 2001. Jason Phillips was just 22 when he was shot and killed in south London, a tragedy that deeply affected Mica. It inspired her to work with Operation Trident — the Metropolitan Police initiative aimed at tackling gun violence in Black communities.
Mica also recalls helping out a young Amy Winehouse, who was getting frustrated with her record company at the time. “Amy came to see me before [her debut album] Frank came out,” Mica remembers.
“She said, ‘They’re trying to take my f**ing songs!’ I told her, ‘Girl, I wrote 20 on my first album — they let me keep one.’ She was terrified, the only white girl on my Jazz Café bill, but I told everyone she’s amazing.”
Off stage, Mica has learnt to find peace in her fifties. After a nine-year relationship, she’s been single for eight — and says she’s never been happier. “I’m in love with myself at the moment,” she grins. “Sometimes you have to come home to yourself. I’ve never needed a man to make me complete.”
Her glow isn’t just metaphorical. Fans constantly tell her she looks incredible — and she’s got a formula. “It’s the steam, the green juice, the steps, [eating] mostly protein,” she reveals. “Do rye [bread], the German kind. I do 8,000 steps a day with my dog, five steam sessions a week, and I’ve been on spirulina for 27 years. Everyone’s always shocked by my age.”
And alcohol? Strictly off the menu. “I used to drink Whispering Angel like it was coming out of the tap,” she laughs. “Then my youngest daughter said, ‘Mum, you’re drinking a bit more than normal.’ The minute she said that, I stopped. I haven’t had a drink since.”
Mica’s father — who once laid out every drug on the table when she was 13 — made sure she understood the concept of self-control at an early age. “He said, ‘All of these things are OK for a minute — but the second they control you, it’s over.’ That stuck with me. Don’t let anything control you.”
These days, it’s all about self-care for Mica, particularly as she goes through the menopause. “It’s a sweaty journey, but you’ve got to work out, eat spirulina, drink ginger,” she says. “I tell my friends, you’re sweating and panicking, and you’ve had three bottles of wine. Don’t drink!”
Mica has maintained her career success alongside being a mum to daughters Monet, 33, and Russia Mae, 18, and she’s now a proud grandmother too. These days, when she’s not touring or recording, she’s travelling to see her grandchildren in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — calling herself a “globe-trotting grandma”.
Mica’s resilience is as unmistakable as her incredible voice. Even during her seven-year run presenting on BBC Radio 2 — which began when she stepped in for Dionne Warwick — she turned rejection into power. “All the record companies that rejected me wanted me to play their artists,” she laughs. “Fabulous, right?”
Now, with her new single Stand — a fiery duet with her long-time friend Chaka Khan — Mica is ready to raise her voice once more. “She’s godmother to my kids,” she says fondly. “We stayed at her house in Atlanta, cooked curry, laughed, and recorded this protest record. It’s time.”
From EastEnders to MBE honours, heartbreak to self-love, Mica has done it all — and she’s still not done. “When I believe in something, I throw my whole intestines, ovaries, all of it into it,” she grins. “At 56, I’m not invisible. I’m just getting started.”
