Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (/ˈbæsi/; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer, known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films – the only artist to officially perform more than one. Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.

Born in Cardiff, Bassey began performing as a teenager in 1953. In 1959, she became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. In the following decades, Bassey amassed 27 top 40 hits in the UK, including two number ones ("As I Love You" and the double A-side "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"/"Reach for the Stars") plus a number one on the Dance Chart ("History Repeating"). She became well known for recording theme songs of the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979).

Bassey has had numerous BBC television specials and hosted her own variety series, Shirley Bassey. In 2011, BBC aired the television film Shirley, based on Bassey's life and career. Since making her first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1971, she has performed at the venue 45 times. Bassey received the first award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1st Brit Awards in 1977. She was appointed a Dame in 1999 for services to the performing arts. In 2003, she was ranked among the "100 Great Black Britons". Her song "Goldfinger" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. She has influenced many other singers, including Aretha Franklin.

In a career spanning more than 70 years, Bassey has sold more than 140 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time. She is the first woman in history to claim a Top 40 album in seven consecutive decades in the United Kingdom.

Shirley Veronica Bassey was born the sixth and youngest child of Henry Bassey and Eliza Jane Start on Bute Street in Tiger Bay, Cardiff. She grew up in the nearby community of Splott. Her father was Nigerian, and her English mother came from New Marske, North Yorkshire.

Two of her mother's four children from previous relationships lived in the Bassey household. Bassey's mother listed her first husband, Alfred Metcalfe, as her own father in the registry of her marriage to Henry Bassey, giving rise to speculation that this marriage was bigamous in the absence of a prior divorce. Eliza and Henry's second child died in infancy, so Shirley was born into a household of three sisters, two half-sisters, and one brother.

Teachers and students alike at Moorland Road School noticed Bassey's strong voice but gave the pre-teen little encouragement: "everyone told me to shut up. Even in the school choir the teacher kept telling me to back off till I was singing in the corridor!" A classmate recalled her singing the refrain "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from Show Boat with such feeling that she made their teacher uncomfortable. She left Splott secondary modern school at age 14 to work at Curran Steels and, in the evenings and weekends, to sing in local pubs and clubs.

In 1953, Bassey signed her first professional contract, touring with the variety show Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. On 17 December 1953, Bassey signed a contract with Columbia Productions for two performances at the salary of £10. Her next professional engagement was in the touring show Hot from Harlem, in which she and other mixed-race Cardiff performers played Black Americans in 1954. A review of the show in March 1954 included: "Shirley Bassey, an attractive young singer, is an asset to the show." Later that year, Bassey gave birth to her daughter Sharon, while staying with her sister Ella in London.