Lauren May Hemp MBE (born 7 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England national team. With City, she is a FA Cup and League Cup winner, and with England; she is a two-time European Championship winner, a Finalissima winner, as well as World Cup runner-up. Since 2017, Hemp was twice named FA England Young Player of the Year and four times named PFA Women's Young Player of the Year.
Hemp grew up in North Walsham, Norfolk, where she attended Millfield Primary School and North Walsham High School. In high school she played for the girls' and boys' teams, and the girls' team won the County Championship.[2] She took an interest in football at a young age and started playing for local club North Walsham Youth FC as one of only two girls on the team.[3]
Her youth career started in 2008 at Norwich City where her sister Amy also played. Her sister had to stop playing after seriously injuring both knees.[3] Hemp joined North Walsham U16 boys while simultaneously playing with Norwich.[4] Hemp played her final game for Norwich in 2015 but continued her association with the club during the 2015–16 season playing for the Norwich City Elite Boys team.[5] The girls' centre closed down, so she joined the boys' team again.[6] When she was 17 she continued to train at the Boys’ Elite Player Development Centre.[7][8] As part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Hemp was installed at North Walsham Youth.[9]
In 2016, after leaving Norwich City, Hemp joined Bristol City.[10] On 10 September 2016, she made her senior debut for the Vixens and scored the team's third goal in a 4–1 win over Watford.[11] On 19 March 2017, she made her first FA Women's Cup appearance, scoring two goals in a 5–0 win over Millwall Lionesses.[12] In the 2017 Spring Series, Hemp made a total of four appearances, scoring one goal. In April 2018, she was named PFA Women's Young Player of the Year.[13][14] She finished the 2017–18 season with nine goals in 24 appearances in all competitions.
On 31 May 2018, Hemp signed with Manchester City.[15] She scored her first goal for the club on 13 December 2018 in the 4–0 win over Aston Villa.[16] She won her first trophy with the club in the 2018–19 Continental Cup. She scored a goal in the 2019 FA Cup final, giving her team a 3–0 victory.[17]
In the 2021/22 season she was used in all 22 league games and was the fourth best goalscorer in the league with ten goals.[18] She was named to the WSL Team of the Year for 2021/22 while Manchester City won the Conti Cup.[17]
She signed a two-year extension with the club on 9 January 2022.[19] Two weeks later she scored the club's 700th goal.[20] She missed a month of playing in November 2022 with a thigh injury.[21] She won PFA Women's Young Player of the Year for the fourth time in 2022.[22] In the 2022/23 season, Hemp totaled 28 appearances in all competitions and had 21 goal involvements.[17]
On 9 December 2023, when Manchester City was behind 1–0 to Aston Villa, Hemp scored a brace to give her team a 2–1 victory.[23] She scored in the 2–1 win against Everton on 2 March 2024 to put Manchester City at the top of the table.[24]
On 26 April 2024, Manchester City announced Hemp’s three-year contract extension until 2027.[25] In September 2024, Hemp was nominated for the Ballon d'Or alongside fellow England internationals Lauren James and Lucy Bronze.[26]
Hemp scored her 50th WSL goal in a 2–0 win against West Ham United on 6 October 2024, becoming the youngest player to reach that milestone.[27] That same month, she was voted both WSL Player of the Month and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month.[28][29] On 8 November 2024, she provided three assists during City's 4–0 home victory against Tottenham Hotspur.[30] Hemp underwent surgery on a knee injury in November 2024, missing five months of the season as a result.[31] She made her return during Manchester City's 1–0 win over Leicester City on 27 April 2025.[32]
In February 2015, Hemp received her first call-up to the under-15 squad.[33] In May 2017, she captained England at the UEFA Under-17 Championship,[34] scoring a goal in a 5–0 win over the Republic of Ireland.[35] In September 2017, she was named Vauxhall England Young Player of the Year.[36] In August 2018, she helped England under-20 finish third at the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[37]
Hemp made her senior England debut on 8 October 2019, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Beth Mead in a 1–0 friendly win against Portugal.[38] On 27 May 2021, it was announced that she had been selected in the Great Britain Olympic football team for the 2020 Olympics.[39]
In January 2020, Hemp was named by UEFA as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.[40] On 30 November 2021, she scored her first four goals for England, in a national record 20–0 win over Latvia.[41] In June Hemp was included in the England squad which won the Euro 2022.[42][43] She played in all six games.[44] During the final it was Hemp's corner that was pressed home by teammate Chloe Kelly to create the winning second goal in front of over 87,000 spectators.[45]
Although usually a winger, Hemp was played in the number 9 (striker) role when England played the USA in a friendly at Wembley on 7 October 2022. The experiment paid off for manager Sarina Wiegman with Hemp scoring within the first 10 minutes in a 2–1 England victory.[46]
During the 2023 Finalissima victory for England, Hemp was knocked on the nose and wore a protective face mask in subsequent games.[47]
On 31 May 2023, Hemp was named to the squad for the 2023 World Cup in July 2023.[48] Hemp scored a goal in England's 6–1 defeat of China.[49] In the quarter-final tie against Colombia, Hemp scored England's equaliser in first half added time as England won 2–1.[50] In the semi-final, Hemp scored the second and assisted for the third as England defeated Australia 3–1 to reach the team's first ever World Cup final.[51]
In the 2023–24 Nations League, Hemp scored in the 1–0 victory over Belgium,[52] and she scored the tying goal in England's 3–2 victory over Netherlands.[53]
Assisting both goals in the 2–1 victory against France on 4 June 2024, Hemp helped her team qualify for UEFA Euro 2025.[54] On 6 June 2025, she was named in England's squad for the tournament itself.[55] Hemp started in the tournament's final on 27 July 2025, helping England to a 1–1 (3–1 on penalties) win over Spain while winning praise for her individual performance.[56][57]
As of 2023, Hemp has been in a relationship with fellow footballer, Sheffield United midfielder, Ashley Hodson. Hemp enjoys building Lego in her spare time.[58] In March 2023, a 7-metre (23 ft) high mural of Hemp was unveiled on the side of a cafe in her hometown of North Walsham. It was painted by a street artist to honour her achievements.[59] Hemp is also an avid cricket fan, having played for her county as a teenager.[60] Hemp was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to association football.[61]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe[c] | Other[d] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bristol City | 2016 | Women's Super League 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | Women's Super League | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Women's Super League | 18 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 9 | |||
| Total | 24 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 13 | ||
| Manchester City | 2018–19 | Women's Super League | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 7 | |
| 2019–20 | Women's Super League | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | Women's Super League | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 10 | |
| 2021–22 | Women's Super League | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 21 | ||
| 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 20 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 28 | 10 | ||
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 21 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 12 | |||
| 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | Women's Super League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 115 | 43 | 16 | 10 | 24 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 170 | 68 | ||
| Career total | 139 | 52 | 18 | 12 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 201 | 81 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 18 | 6 | |
| 2023 | 19 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 70 | 19 | |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 November 2021 | Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, England |  Latvia
|
5–0 | 20–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 8–0 | |||||
| 3 | 15–0 | |||||
| 4 | 20–0 | |||||
| 5 | 12 April 2022 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland
|
1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 6 | 3–0 | |||||
| 7 | 24 June 2022 | Elland Road, Leeds, England |  Netherlands
|
4–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 11 July 2022 | Falmer Stadium, Brighton and Hove, England |  Norway
|
2–0 | 8–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2022 |
| 9 | 6 September 2022 | Bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, England |  Luxembourg
|
9–0 | 10–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 7 October 2022 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  United States
|
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 1 August 2023 | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia |  China
|
2–0 | 6–1 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 12 | 12 August 2023 | Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia |  Colombia
|
1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 13 | 16 August 2023 |  Australia
|
2–1 | 3–1 | ||
| 14 | 22 September 2023 | Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England |  Scotland
|
2–0 | 2–1 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League A |
| 15 | 27 October 2023 | King Power Stadium, Leicester, England |  Belgium
|
1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 16 | 1 December 2023 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | Netherlands
|
2–2 | 3–2 | |
| 17 | 27 February 2024 | Estadio Nuevo Mirador, Algeciras, Spain |  Italy
|
2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 18 | 3–0 | |||||
| 19 | 13 July 2025 | Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland |  Wales
|
3–0 | 6–1 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 |
Manchester City
England U20
England
Individual
International tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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_(cropped_-_Hemp).jpg/250px-Eng_Women_0_Czech_Rep_0_11_10_2022-321_(52427095313)_(cropped_-_Hemp).jpg){kind=small}
_(cropped_-_Hemp).jpg "Lauren Hemp")
