One Direction facts: Story of Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan

One Direction's Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan have taken the world by storm. Simon Cowell picked them up after the boy band took 3^rd place in The X Factor. Here's a look at some facts about One Direction and the life stories of the lovable band mates so far.

Liam Payne is an 18 year old singer from Wolverhampton, England. Liam is said to be a young athlete and at the age of 12, he was picked for his school's under 18 cross country team. But not all was well for the start to be as he was diagnosed with a faulty kidney and went through trauma of taking more than 30 injections during the day to ease the pain. Today, the 18 year old star says he has to watch what he drinks, even water, let alone alcohol.

So what was Liam Payne's childhood like? Just like the average kid, he too was bullied in school. To learn to defend himself, Liam took up boxing classes and subsequently broke his nose and had bruises on his face. Ouch! But Liam believes that it shaped him for things to come. "But it gave me confidence. I got pretty good over the next couple of years. I was really proud that I went out with a girl who was in Year Six when I was in Year Four." he said, as per extracts of their book Dare to Dream: Life As One Direction reported by TheSun.

Dating was not Liam's stronghold in school as he had been rejected, dumped and cheated on. While this may sound hard to believe, this One Direction star asked a girl out more than 20 times only to be dumped later and had many girls cheat on him. That hurts! But all's well that ends well, they say. And that's exactly what happened when he first sang Cry Me a River, to which he received a standing ovation not only from the audience, but also from the media mogul Simon Cowell. Liam Payne's full name is Liam James Payne and his date of birth is 29 August 1993.

Born in Bradford, England, Zayn Malik was son to a British mother and a Brit-Pakistani father. In school, Zayn felt out of place because of his background. "I almost felt like I didn’t fit in at my first two schools because I was the only mixed heritage kid in my class" he mentions.

Zayn was a very hyper active kid. He likes to use the words 'Full-on' while talking about how active he was as a child. Growing up, Zayn auditioned for The X Factor which didn't go quite well in the beginning. When he had to dance, he refused to come on the stage. Cowell had to go backstage and convince Zayn to come on stage and dance. Little did Simon Cowell know at that time that he was coercing a boy that would one day be a part of the world's top boy band, One Direction.

Zayn is often known as the Bad Boy of One Direction because of his tattoos. During childhood, Zayn also sported a shaved head and slits in his eyebrows. Why did he do that? "I thought I was properly gangsta, being into R&B and rap, and that it made me look hard." Says Zayn. Today, Zayn has 6 known tattoos including an Arabic phrase, a Chinese symbol, a heart and a Japanese symbol. Zayn Malik's full name is Zain Javadd Malik and his date of birth is 12 January 1993.

With a solid beach body and a brief affair with TV presenter Caroline Flack who was 15 years older to him, Harry Styles has created quite a stir for himself. Born in Worcestershire, England, Harry saw his parents divorcing when he was just 7. That didn't stop him from unleashing the talent inside him as he focused on singing.

In One Direction's book, Harry mentions that he had a few girlfriends 'here and there' when he was quite young. But he didn't find a relationship with substance until he was 12 and he started going out with a girl who he is still in touch with. How adorable!

Harry gained notoriety when he started dating Caroline Flack. Their relationship became the talk of the town as Harry was a massive 15 years younger than Caroline. However like all the other good things in life, their time spent together came to an end. Afterwards, Harry had tweeted on 27 January 2012 "Please know I didn't 'dump' Caroline. This was a mutual decision. She is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. Please respect that" Harry has also mentioned the fact that he is not shy of nudity. In the book, Harry says "Stripping off is very liberating, I feel so free." Harry Style's real name is Harold Edward Styles and his date of birth is 1 February 1994.

Born in South Yorkshire, England and brother to 5 sisters, Louis Tomlinson knows what it is to be around girls from a young age. In fact, he has mentioned the fact that his time around his sisters has made him very comfortable around kids. He says "I absolutely love babies and kids and the boys are always taking the mickey out of me for how broody I am." Broody or not, with a quality like that, this lad has the potential to be a loving father and a caring husband. But sorry girls, Louis is presently dating girlfriend Eleanor.

While growing up, Louis was quite the adventurous type as he ventured off to France with a mate and later to Jersey to see a girl he had earlier met at a music festival. He along with his friends organized house parties and had a blast growing up.

As a child, Louis went to an acting school and later had a small role in a drama series on TV. He also took part in musical productions which later led to him auditioning for The X Factor where he was initially rejected. This talented chap can also play the Piano. Louis Tomlinson's real name is Louis William Tomlinson and his date of birth is 24 December 1991.

Niall Horan was born in Westmeath, Ireland, to parents who divorced when he was just 5. He studied in an all boys school in Westmeath. This young superstar wasn't at the top of the dating game while in high school. Although he mentions that he had his first kiss when he was just 11, he wasn't quite successful dating girls when he was a teenager. With a few failed relationships, Niall is still hopeful of finding someone special. "I’ve still never had a serious girlfriend but I would happily go out with someone if the right girl came along." he says.

Niall seems to be talented and gifted right since childhood as his aunt once thought the radio was playing when Niall was singing in the back seat. He picked up the guitar when he was young and has never looked back. When he first auditioned for The X Factor, the judges weren't all praise for him. Niall received negative feedback from 2 out of 3 judges. Like a few other band mates, he too shone out later and became a part of One Direction. Niall Horan's real name is Niall James Horan and his date of birth is 13 September 1993.