Lauren James: The amazing life of the superstar Lioness

She's the star of this World Cup, scoring the most amount of goals for England in the tournament so far, and to top it off, it's the first one she's ever played in.

We're of course talking about Chelsea winger and now, England hero, Lauren James.

Everyone knows her name after her show-stopping performance at this World Cup so far, but how did she get here?

As it turns out, James has been a prodigy since she was a child, and has only continued to grow ever since.

We've taken a look at the amazing life of Lioness Lauren James.

Lauren even made it into an animation, featuring in Ella: A Modern Day Fairy-tale by Disney and the FA

Early life

Lauren was born in London in September 2001 and studied at Whitton School in Twickenham.

Lauren shared this picture of her with her brother Reece playing together in junior football

She joined the Chelsea Youth Academy at just six years old.

She played in the U10s and U14s, before moving to rival London club Arsenal at the age of 13.

But there was a problem, if you could call it that - she was just too good.

At first she was brought into to train with the older women in the senior squad, but her dad Nigel said that while they were matched in skill, off the pitch they had nothing in common.

So eventually, the decision was made to train in the boy's academy, something that had never happened before.

A birthday to remember

Your 16th birthday is a special day anyway, but for Lauren hers held an even greater significance.

Another trophy for Lauren as she shows off the Continental Cup Trophy with Danielle van de Donk during her Arsenal days in 2018

After having played on the junior squads in Arsenal up until that point, she made her professional debut in 2017, in the team's senior squad on her actual birthday.

It made her (at the time) Arsenal's second-youngest player.

Her move up North

The next summer, in 2018, she made a big move up North and travelled to Manchester, joining United.

She told the Evening Standard newspaper that even though the Red Devils were in the FA Women's Championship, a lower league to Chelsea and Arsenal in the WSL, the move made her as a player, and a person.

"Living alone, it allowed me to grow up as a person and… having to cook for myself! I can't cook," she said.

But with her on their team, United didn't stay in the Championship for long - James helped the squad move up to the WSL that year, and ended the campaign as the team's top goal-scorer.

Lauren at Manchester United shows off the FA Women's Championship Trophy in 2019

World Cup debut

Lauren received her first call up for England in 2020, after scouts were wowed by her skills at Manchester United during that year's Women's Super League.

She was no stranger to the Lionesses' coaching staff, as she'd already received caps in their U17 and U19 squads.

And then in August 2022, England boss Sarina Wiegman officially called her up to the senior squad for the first time.

Lauren made her senior England debut on Saturday 3 September 2022 when she came on as a substitute against Austria in the Fifa World Cup qualifier.

She's now playing in her first ever World Cup, and is undeniably smashing it.

Despite not starting England's first game, Lauren James has the most goals and assists of any player at this year's World Cup so far (three goals, three assists).

Most of these came in England's 6-1 victory over China, and with her two goals and three assists, she became the first English player in history to have five goal contributions in a single World Cup.

England and Chelsea teammate Jess Carter told the i newspaper: "It was just a matter of time for [Lauren]. She's unbelievable on the ball. She's just showing what she can do and growing and growing and hopefully she'll be able to do it consistently throughout the tournament."

What is she like?

Lucy Bronze has become something of a mentor to James in this tournament, taking her under her wing as she catapults into the limelight.

Not only does she think she can help with the rise to fame, she also feels that she is similar to the 21-year-old superstar.

Bronze and James are good friends

Bronze told the i newspaper: "I can help keep her feet on the ground but she is good at that anyway. She's someone like myself who gets misinterpreted a little bit by other players or the media because she hasn't always got a smile on her face.

"She is quite shy like I used to be. She reminds me so much of myself when I was younger."

Football is in her blood

She's not the only football lover in the family.

Her brother Reece James also plays for Chelsea and England, and her dad, Nigel, coaches young people in the sport.

Proud Lauren gets hold of the Champions League trophy with brother Reece who won it with Chelsea in 2021

He's the first father since records began to have children play for both the men's and women's England teams, and he told the BBC he's "not surprised at all" by his daughter's success.

He said: "Everyone who has seen Lauren play from six or seven years old knows how good she is.

"She has trained all her life, she's dedicated and she's been obsessed with being a footballer. It's all she has ever wanted to do."

As for Lauren, she told the Independent newspaper that her dad was a huge inspiration to her: "When it comes to football, my dad was a really important person and coach for me. He was consistently telling me what to work on and demanded the best from me, which he still does to this day."