Age, Biography, and Wiki
Tom Jones was born Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940, in Treforest, Glamorgan, South Wales, to Thomas Woodward, a coal miner, and Freda Jones. He grew up with his sister Sheila and began singing at family gatherings and school choirs. Jones's early life was marked by illness; he was diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 12 and spent two years recovering.
| Occupation | Autobiographer |
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| Date of Birth | 7 June 1940 |
| Age | 85 Years |
| Birth Place | Treforest, Wales |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
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Height, Weight & Measurements
Tom Jones's specific height and weight are not frequently mentioned in recent sources, but he is known for his tall and imposing stage presence.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Tom Jones married his girlfriend, Linda Trenchard, in 1957 when he was just 16 years old. She was pregnant with their son, Mark, who was born a month later. The couple remained together until Linda's death in 2016.
On 3 September 2022, Jones performed "I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall", taken from his Surrounded by Time album, on The Voice UK. After the performance, Jones explained the meaning behind the song: "My wife, she was dying of lung cancer [...] I was always able to fix stuff, I was always able to do things, if she needed me for anything I was always there, but she said 'you can't crumble with me, don't fall with me now, you've done everything you can, you must carry on and do what you do' [...] When I heard it I thought, 'My God it's like this was written for this situation'. It's a lovely song." Within 24 hours, the song had peaked on the UK iTunes chart at number 1. The song debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart on 9 September 2022.
Jones was married to his school girlfriend, Melinda Rose "Linda" Trenchard, from 2 March 1957 until her death from cancer on 10 April 2016. To support his young family, Jones worked in construction and at a glove factory before finding success as a singer. He stayed married to Trenchard despite his many well-publicised infidelities. After his wife's death, Jones sold the family's Los Angeles mansion and its contents (apart from treasured photos) and moved into an apartment in London, which was his wife's dying wish.
Jones has stated that he had sex with up to 250 groupies a year at his peak of fame. He had affairs with famous American women such as singer Mary Wilson, presenter Charlotte Laws, and former Miss World Marjorie Wallace (engaged at the time to American race car driver Peter Revson). Actress Cassandra Peterson (better known as her character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) revealed in 2008 that she lost her virginity to Jones, calling the experience "painful and horrible" and stating that she required stitches afterwards. One of his affairs resulted in a son. While on tour in the United States in October 1987, he had a brief relationship with model Katherine Berkery, who later discovered she was pregnant. After a legal battle that included DNA testing, a U.S. court ruled in 1989 that Jones was the boy's father. He denied the court's findings until 2008, when he admitted they were true but expressed no interest in meeting his son, singer Jonathan Berkery.
Jones met his idol Elvis Presley in 1965 at the Paramount film stage, when Elvis was filming Paradise, Hawaiian Style. They became good friends, spending more time together in Las Vegas singing and carousing until the early hours at Presley's private suite. The friendship endured until Presley's death in 1977. One year after the death of Jones' wife, rumours began that he had started dating Presley's wife Priscilla. In 2021, he said they had known each other since the 1960s and simply enjoyed spending time together. People had thought they were dating because they had been seen together dining and at Jeff Franklin's house.
In the video game Team Fortress 2, the Scout character is a collector of Tom Jones merchandise, and Jones is depicted being murdered by the Soldier character in the tie-in comics. The Spy character later uses his shape-shifting ability to convince the Scout that Jones is his father. Jones is also depicted using the phrase "What's new pussycat?" several times.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Linda Trenchard (m. 1957-2016) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Tom Jones has an estimated net worth of $300 million. His earnings come from a successful music career with over 100 million records sold, extensive international touring, television appearances, and licensing royalties from his classic hits.
Following the UK's 1974 election of a Labour government, Jones became a tax exile to avoid a 98% income tax. In 1976, he purchased the mansion at 363 Copa De Oro Road in the East Gate Bel Air area of Los Angeles from Dean Martin for $500,000. He sold it to Nicolas Cage in 1998 for a reported $6.4 million.
Business and Investments
Tom Jones earns from real estate investments and licensing and royalties from his music used in film, TV, and streaming platforms.
Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born Thomas John Woodward; 7 June 1940) is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has been described by AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone".
Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with Decca. His first single, "Chills and Fever", was released in late 1964. It did not chart, but the follow-up, "It's Not Unusual", became an international hit after offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline promoted it. The following year was the most prominent of Jones's career, making him one of the most popular vocalists of the British Invasion. In early 1965, "It's Not Unusual" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States. During 1965, Mills secured a number of film themes for Jones to record, including the James Bond film Thunderball, and What's New Pussycat? (written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David). Jones was sceptical about the latter song when first approached about it. He said when it was offered to him, he felt it was "sort of a backhanded compliment: 'I've got to have you, but this is the song. Jones said it took convincing from Bacharach to perform "What's New Pussycat?":
In 1967, Jones performed in Las Vegas for the first time, at the Flamingo. His performances and style of dress became part of his stage act, and increasingly featured his open, half-unbuttoned shirts and tight trousers. He soon chose to record less and focus on club performances. Jones played in Las Vegas at least one week each year until 2011. Jones had an internationally successful television variety show titled This Is Tom Jones from 1969 to 1971. The Associated Television-produced show was worth a reported US$9000000 1971 to Jones over three years. It was broadcast by ITV in the UK and by the American Broadcasting Company in the US. As a result of the show, Jones was nominated in 1970 for a "best actor" Golden Globe. From 1980 to 1981, he had a second television variety show, Tom Jones, which was produced in Vancouver, Canada, and lasted 24 episodes. Both television shows were the subject of litigation with the original licence holder C/F International. As of December 2004, C/F International was a secured judgment creditor of Classic World Productions and its principal, Darryl Payne, for approximately US$1000000 2004, and was the principal secured creditor at the time of the subsequent bankruptcy filing by the company. C/F International's action against Classic World Productions and owner Darryl Payne was based on unpaid royalty payments from This Is Tom Jones and related recordings. This Is Tom Jones is sold on DVD by Time Life rather than by Classic World Productions or C/F International.
C/F International's rights to later Tom Jones material were also disputed. In March 2007, Tom Jones and Tom Jones Enterprises sued C/F International to stop the company from licensing sound recordings made from the 1981 Tom Jones series. It was contended that any rights that C/F International had to license the Tom Jones show did not include the right to make and license separate recordings of the performances on the show, and that any rights that C/F International had in the Tom Jones show no longer existed because of numerous breaches of contract. Examples of contentious CDs are Live on the Tom Jones Show, released in 2006, and Greatest Hits Live, originally issued by C/F International in 1981 and later licensed to and issued by Prism Leisure Corporation as 30 Greatest Hits – Live in Concert.
In 1992, he made his first appearance at the UK's Glastonbury Festival, and in 1993 he appeared as himself in episodes of two popular US sitcoms, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ("The Alma Matter [sic]") and The Simpsons ("Marge Gets a Job").
Jones, who had been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 at Buckingham Palace for his services to music. After receiving a knighthood, Jones stated: "When you first come into show business and get a hit record, it is the start of something. As time goes by it just gets better. This is the best thing I have had. It's a wonderful feeling, a heady feeling."
In March 2009, Jones went to the top of the UK Music Charts for the third time in his career with a cover of "Islands in the Stream", sung with Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon and Robin Gibb, who co-wrote the original with his brothers Barry and Maurice. The record, which was inspired by the song's having featured in the BBC's hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey, was released in aid of Comic Relief and reached No. 1 in March 2009. This was his first UK chart topper since "Green, Green Grass of Home" in 1967, setting a new record of 42 years between two UK number ones; this record would be surpassed by Kate Bush when "Running Up That Hill" topped the charts in 2022, a 44-year gap between number ones.
Social Network
Tom Jones is active on social media platforms, where he engages with fans and promotes his music and upcoming tours. However, specific details about his social media accounts are not widely highlighted in recent sources.
He attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School, and Pontypridd Central Secondary Modern School. He began singing at an early age; he would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings, and in his school choir. He did not like school or sports, but gained confidence through his singing talent. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later, he said, "I spent two years in bed recovering. It was the worst time of my life." During this time, he could do little else but listen to music and draw.
In 2015, Jones' autobiography Over the Top and Back was published by Michael Joseph. Reviewing the book in the Daily Express, Clair Woodward said, "In the tradition of so many autobiographies these days, Tom Jones's doesn't tell you what you really want to hear. [...] What you are left with is a riotously enjoyable story of Jones 'The Voice' which nicely doubles as the story of British pop and light entertainment from the Sixties onwards." In 2021, Jones revealed that he uses inversion therapy to stay in good health.
A musical, Tom: A Story of Tom Jones, based on his life and recordings, produced by Theatr na nÓg, opened at the Wales Millennium Centre in March 2016. Another jukebox musical, What's New Pussycat? based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (set in the 1960s) which uses Jones' music opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in October 2021 to critical acclaim. It is written by Joe DiPietro, directed by Luke Sheppard, and choreographed by Arlene Phillips.
Education
Jones attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School, and Pontypridd Central Secondary Modern School. He dropped out of school at 16 to support his family after marrying Linda Trenchard.
