Mumford was born on 31 January 1987 in
Yorba Linda, California, to parents, John and Eleanor (née Weir-Breen) Mumford, international leaders of the
Vineyard Churches. As a result, he has held both
UK and
US citizenship from birth. Mumford has an older brother, James. Mumford's family moved back to the UK when Marcus was six months old. Mumford has revealed that he was sexually abused as a child: "Not by family and not in the church, which might be some people's assumption. But I hadn't told anyone about it for 30 years". After his first year of study at the
University of Edinburgh, he returned to London to focus on his music career, and began playing drums for
Laura Marling on tour, along with the other current members of Mumford & Sons. It was through touring with Marling and gaining experience playing gigs as well as experimenting with his early writing that they decided to form the band in 2007. Mumford was included in the
Forbes 30 Under 30 list of music stars in December 2012 for his achievements with his band.
Forbes commented of the list, which also included acts such as
Adele and
Rihanna: "In sum they represent the entrepreneurial, creative and intellectual best of their generation. Individually, they are engaging, surprising and incredibly hardworking." Mumford sang a cover of "
Dink's Song" with
Oscar Isaac for the 2013
Coen brothers film
Inside Llewyn Davis. Although he is not seen in the film, Mumford voices the
protagonist's musical partner, Mike, who dies by suicide before the beginning of the film. Mumford is featured on the 2014 album
Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, a collective/Supergroup with other musicians including
Elvis Costello,
Rhiannon Giddens,
Taylor Goldsmith,
Jim James, produced by
T Bone Burnett. Mumford takes co-writing credits on tracks "Kansas City", "When I Get My Hands on You", "Stranger", "The Whistle Is Blowing", and "Lost on the River #20". On 23 September 2014, the video for "When I Get My Hands on You" was released and features him on lead vocals. Mumford & Sons' third album,
Wilder Mind, was released on 4 May 2015. Mumford & Sons' fourth album,
Delta, was released on 16 November 2018, featuring appearances from
Maggie Rogers,
Yebba and
Gill Landry. On 12 July 2022, Mumford announced his debut solo album
Self-Titled would be released in September of that year. Produced by
Blake Mills, it features guests
Brandi Carlile,
Phoebe Bridgers,
Clairo and
Monica Martin and includes "
Cannibal", a song Mumford wrote in January 2021 about his personal struggles.
Steven Spielberg directed the music video for the song, which was shot on 3 July in a high school gym in New York. ==Production work==