[12] Defoe grew up in Canning Town and when his family moved to Beckton, played five-a-side football at Newham Leisure Centre.

[11] Defoe was spotted playing football by Charlton Athletic who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in 1997.

[11] Two years later, he took the controversial decision, aged 16, to turn professional with West Ham United, following which Charlton were subsequently awarded compensation rising to £1.4 million contingent on Defoe's Premier League and international appearances.

[15] Shortly thereafter, he joined Second Division club AFC Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive matches, equalling John Aldridge's and Clarrie Jordan's post-war record.

[22] Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, Defoe made a written request for a transfer, saying, "As much as I love West Ham United I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career.

[26] Manager David Pleat said, "I can't think of a British striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time.

[45] Due to appearances in Tottenham's third and fourth round ties, Defoe found himself cup-tied for all the subsequent matches of Pompey's successful 2007–08 FA Cup campaign.

[46] This also meant that he missed out on playing in Spurs' League Cup final victory over Chelsea, however he still received his winners' medal, albeit 10 years later, in December 2018.

[51] Five days later, he contributed a goal and an assist in Pompey's first ever major European match, a 2–0 UEFA Cup first round win over Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães on 18 September.

[59] He scored three goals in his first four matches before suffering a broken foot which meant that he returned for Spurs against Newcastle United on 19 April in which the club won 1–0.

[63] Following the match, his manager Harry Redknapp stated his high opinion of Defoe: "With [Cristiano] Ronaldo gone, he can push to be the [Premier League] top scorer.

"[64][65][66] After a fine run of form which saw him score seven goals for club and country, Defoe was named Premier League Player of the Month for August 2009.

[78] On 3 February, Defoe claimed his third hat-trick of the season in an FA Cup fourth-round replay against Leeds United at Elland Road, with Spurs winning 3–1.

[85] He was injured in the beginning of September when he was on duty with England,[86] He made his comeback in Tottenham's 3–2 victory against Arsenal in the North London derby.

[87] On 26 December 2010, Defoe received a straight red card, his first of the season and first since 17 October 2009, in a match at Aston Villa; his team leading at the time went on to secure the win despite playing over an hour with ten men.

[106] Nonetheless, manager André Villas-Boas used him as a first-choice striker for their opening matches in the Europa League, and on 29 August he scored his first goals of the campaign in a 3–0 home win against Dinamo Tbilisi.

[108] On 19 September, Defoe scored twice in a 3–0 victory against Tromsø in the Europa League group stages, taking his tally in Europe to within two goals of the record holder, Martin Chivers.

[109] On 24 September 2013, Defoe scored another two in a 4–0 win against Aston Villa in the League Cup, which took his tally for Tottenham to 139 goals, moving him past George Hunt as the club's fifth-highest scorer of all-time.

[112] On 10 January 2014, Tottenham announced that Defoe was leaving to join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC, effective 28 February 2014.

[155] On 25 January 2020, it was announced that Defoe had signed a pre-contract agreement with Rangers, and would join the club permanently on a one-year deal, at the expiry of his Bournemouth contract in June 2020.

[159] On 15 November 2021, following the departure of manager, Steven Gerrard from Rangers to Aston Villa, Defoe was named as part of a four-man caretaker team responsible for leading the club during the pursuit of a new permanent head coach.

[167] Defoe debuted for the senior England team in a 1–0 defeat to Sweden in March 2004, coming on as an early substitute for the injured Darius Vassell.

[173] He joined the squad for training in Germany, but returned to England when Wayne Rooney was cleared to play after having suffered a foot injury in April.

[178] Defoe was initially omitted from Fabio Capello's first squad with the new manager insisting he would only select players who were playing regular club football.

[182] His 2009–10 season got off to the perfect start as he came from the bench to score both goals in the 2–2 draw against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena on 12 August 2009 and was announced as man of the match.

[185] Defoe opened up the scoring for England's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Bulgaria, volleying home from the six-yard box after a cross from Ashley Cole, whose initial effort was saved by the Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov.

[192] Defoe's form in the 2015–16 season, where he helped Sunderland avoid relegation with 15 goals, led to calls for him to be included in the England squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Ahead of captain, Joe Hart, Defoe led the team onto the pitch with terminally ill child, Bradley Lowery, a Sunderland supporter who suffered from neuroblastoma.

[195] In a 2018 interview with Sky Sports, Defoe spoke about the influence of former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on his career, which included being inspired by his goal celebrations.

[206] Whilst playing for Sunderland, Defoe befriended Bradley Lowery, a terminally-ill six-year-old fan with neuroblastoma, describing their relationship as the "highlight of his season".