Geri Halliwell | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Geraldine Estelle Halliwell |
Also known as | Ginger Spice, Ginger |
Born | [1] Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
6 August 1972
Origin | London, England, UK |
Genres | Bubblegum pop, dance |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter, author, actress, clothes designer, model |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | Virgin (1996–98) Spice Girls EMI (1998–2003) Capitol (US) Innocent (2004–05) XIX (2010–present) |
Associated acts | Spice Girls |
Website | gerihalliwellofficial.com |
Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell (born 6 August 1972) is a British pop singer-songwriter, clothes designer, author and actress. Halliwell came to international prominence in the late 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of girl group the Spice Girls. She reportedly amassed a $30 million fortune during her last two years in the group.[2] Halliwell launched her solo career in 1999, releasing her album Schizophonic. She has since released two more studio albums – Scream If You Wanna Go Faster and Passion – as well as four singles that reached number one on the UK Singles Chart: "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", "Bag It Up" and "It's Raining Men". In 2008 Halliwell published a book series named Ugenia Lavender.[3] As a solo artist, Halliwell has sold 12 million records worldwide, and been nominated for four Brit Awards (in 2000 and 2002). In July 2011, Halliwell announced she has been working on a fourth studio album, and would be making a return to music in 2013.[4] Halliwell reunited, once again, with the Spice Girls to perform a medley of their Number 1 hits, "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in August 2012.
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Early life
Halliwell was born at Watford General Hospital to Laurence Francis Halliwell (1922–1993),[5] who was of English and Swedish descent, and his wife Ana María (née Hidalgo), who is a Spaniard from Huesca. Halliwell grew up on a council estate in North Watford.[6] She was educated at the Watford Grammar School for Girls.[7]
Before starting her music career, Halliwell had worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca,[6] a presenter on the Turkish version of Let's Make a Deal[6] and as a glamour model.[6] Following her rise to fame with the Spice Girls, nude photos of Halliwell were re-published in a number of magazines in 1992 and 1995 including Playboy and Penthouse.[8][9]
Career
1994–98: Spice Girls
Halliwell first found fame as one of the five members of the girl group the Spice Girls after Suzanne Tinker couldn't come to the last audition and was replaced at last moment with Geri, and was dubbed "Ginger Spice" by Top of the Pops magazine in 1996.[citation needed] Geri became renowned for wearing outrageous stage costumes and often garnered extensive publicity.[citation needed] The group sold over 65 million records and are the best selling girl group of all time.[citation needed] Their debut single "Wannabe" became the first of nine number-ones in the United Kingdom and reached the top position in 41 countries around the globe, including Australia, Canada and the United States. Other successful releases followed, including "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1" from Spice, and "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much" and "Stop" from Spiceworld.[10]
On 30 May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls due to depression and differences between the group.[11] The first official confirmation was an announcement to the media by her solicitor on 31 May.[citation needed] Her action aroused controversy, her former group being due to embark on a North American tour, which they eventually completed without her.[12] Although she had already left the group, the Spice Girls released "Viva Forever", the final music video to feature Halliwell's likeness, plus a one-off supergroup called England United for the official England FC song (Jo Whiley introduced the band saying "...plus Geri as a substitute". After she left, the other girls co-wrote a few songs about her, which appeared on their album Forever: "Goodbye" and "Let Love Lead the Way" and "Tell Me Why".[13]
1999–2000: Schizophonic
Halliwell appeared in a 90 minute documentary Geri for the British television channel Channel 4 by Molly Dineen.[14] In 1999, Halliwell launched her solo career and released her debut album Schizophonic, with the lead single "Look at Me", produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall. "Look at Me" was followed by further number ones at the UK Singles Chart "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up" and "Bag It Up". Halliwell performed "Bag It Up" during the BRIT Awards ceremony in 2000, emerging between giant inflatable legs, ripping off her shirt and walking in stiletto heels over the backs of topless pink-haired men whilst performing the song.[citation needed]
"Look at Me" was released to radio in the United States in late 1999, receiving limited airplay. With only a radio single, Schizophonic debuted at number forty-two on the Billboard 200 before dropping out within the next month. The album was eventually certified Gold, distributing over 500,000 copies.[15] "Mi Chico Latino" did not have a big impact on American radio, and no further singles from Schizophonic or albums were released in the United States.[citation needed] In 1999, she wrote an autobiography If Only, in which described her life as a Spice Girl.[16]
2001–04: Scream If You Wanna Go Faster
In 2001, Halliwell followed up with her second album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster. It also included her cover version of the Weather Girls' 1983 hit, "It's Raining Men", used on the Bridget Jones's Diary film soundtrack, and the video game, DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 7thMix. The song also won her the International Song of the Year award at the 2002 NRJ Music Awards.[citation needed] The song has been added to the album at the last minute, and another song "Feels Like Sex" had already been slated as the lead single.[citation needed] The singles that followed, "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" and "Calling", reached, respectively, number eight and number seven in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] Halliwell released a special French edition of the single, titled "Au Nom de L'amour".[citation needed] Scream If You Wanna Go Faster was not released in the United States.[citation needed]
In 2002, Halliwell was featured alongside Pete Waterman and Louis Walsh as a judge on the television series Popstars: The rivals which created Girls Aloud.[16] The following year, she released her second autobiography, Just for the Record, detailing her rise to fame and her turbulent celebrity lifestyle.[16] She has also released two Yoga DVDs with her yoga teacher Katy Appleton, Geri Yoga and Geri Body Yoga.[17] In the United States, Halliwell appeared as a judge on the reality programme All American Girl and as a guest reporter on celebrity-based series Extra. She has also made appearances in the television series Sex and the City and in the 2004 film Fat Slags, based on characters from Viz Magazine. In 2004, Halliwell appeared on Channel Five as one of the hosts of the Party in the Park event for the Prince's Trust, the presenter and main performer of the Tickled Pink Girls' night in Live! event and an appearance in a documentary There's Something About Geri.[16]
2005–06: Passion
In late 2004, Halliwell made a return to music with the single "Ride It", which reached number four in the United Kingdom and number one on the dance charts.[citation needed] However, several months elapsed before another single was released, during which time she was apparently instructed to record some new tracks for the as yet unreleased album by her record company, which was unhappy with the setlist.[18] Halliwell planned her first solo tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland, but due to lack of ticket sales, compounded by the label's pressure on Halliwell to record additional songs, led to the cancellation of the tour.[citation needed] Eventually a new single, "Desire", was released on 30 May 2005, reaching number 22 in the UK Singles Chart and number one on the UK Dance Charts.[citation needed] Released shortly after, the album Passion similarly received little attention from the public or critics, and stalled at number 41 in the UK charts.[citation needed] Halliwell's recording contract with EMI was subsequently not renewed, and in recent interviews Halliwell has stated that she is not interested in recording another album at the moment and was content with writing children's books and being a mother.[citation needed]
2007–09: Spice Girls reunion and Ugenia Lavender
On 28 June 2007, Halliwell announced she was joining her former group-mates for a concert tour "Return of the Spice Girls".[citation needed] Part of the setlist of the reunion tour features Halliwell performing solo, singing her cover of It's Raining Men. It was announced on 1 February that the tour would end early, on 26 February 2008.[19]
On 12 April 2007, it was announced that Halliwell had signed a six-book deal with Macmillan Children's Books.[20] The books follow the adventures of nine-year-old Ugenia, a character based on Halliwell,[21] alongside her friends Bronte, Rudy and Trevor.[3] Other characters are said by Halliwell to be loosely based on Gordon Ramsay,[22] George Michael,[23] Marilyn Monroe,[24] Vincent van Gogh,[24] Wayne Rooney[25] and the character Justin Suarez from the TV series Ugly Betty.[25] The character Princess Posh Vattoria, a caricature of Halliwell's bandmate Victoria Beckham, was featured in early drafts but has not appeared in the book series.[26]
Halliwell appeared in the film Crank: High Voltage alongside her friend, actor John Damon, and on the BBC 1's The One Show on 7 May 2009.[27] On 24 May 2009, she spoke to the Speed TV reporter Peter Windsor in the pit lane just prior to the start of the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix. In interviews to promote the book series Ugenia Lavender, Halliwell said she had no plans to return to a solo musical career in the near future.[28]
2010–11: Clothing range and television appearances
In March 2010 vocal coach and singer Carrie Grant announced on ITV1's The Alan Titchmarsh Show that Halliwell would be making a return to music. The following month, Halliwell announced through her official website that she was back in the studio and recording.[29] In 2010, Halliwell stood in as a guest judge on The X Factor for Dannii Minogue at the Glasgow auditions.[30] Halliwell is to release her own range of bikinis through retailer Next in January 2011.[31] On Christmas Day 2010 she played a cameo in the mockumentary Come Fly with Me.
2011-present: Fourth studio album
In May 2011, reports suggested Halliwell would be making a return to music.[32] On July 31, 2011 Geri confirmed she had been working on her fourth album, stating "The album's pretty much finished".[4] In February 2012, Halliwell announced her the album is finished and will be released at the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013.[33] In August 2012, she reunited with the Spice Girls to perform at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. She was also a guest judge at the Liverpool auditions on The X Factor. In September 2012, reports confirmed Halliwell would debut a new single at a fashion show for Breast Cancer Care.[34] In October 2012, Halliwell unveiled a new single, "Phenomenal Woman", at the Breast Cancer Care Show.[35][36]
Personal and media life
On 14 May 2006 Halliwell gave birth to her daughter, Bluebell Madonna Halliwell, by caesarean section at London's Portland Hospital.[37] Sacha Gervasi is reported to be the child's father, but this is unconfirmed by Halliwell.[38] Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton are Bluebell's godmothers.[39] Halliwell is a supporter of Watford Football Club. She has attended the Alpha course at Holy Trinity Brompton in London.[40]
Charity work
In 1999 Halliwell became a representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).[citation needed] In 2000 Halliwell appeared in the two part documentary series Geri's World Walkabout for the BBC, which followed her work with the UN and other travels. Halliwell picked up further UN work in 2006, by visiting Zambia from 14–16 November, to promote greater international awareness of the urgent need to reduce maternal death and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS.[citation needed]
Political affiliations
In the run-up to the 1997 UK General Election, Halliwell declared: "I saw a lot of what Mrs Thatcher did. She was definitely the original Spice Girl rising from the greengrocer's daughter to Prime Minister." For this, Lauren Laverne called her "Tory scum".[41] She claimed that her background was deeply-rooted in support for the Conservative Party and that Thatcher was the pioneer of 'Girl Power' and the spiritual sixth member of the Spice Girls. She claimed in 1996 that Tony Blair was "not a safe pair of hands for the economy".[42] By the 2001 General Election Halliwell had switched her support to Tony Blair and the Labour Party, making a cameo appearance in one of their party election broadcasts.[43]
Discography
- Schizophonic (1999)
- Scream If You Wanna Go Faster (2001)
- Passion (2005)
Bibliography
- 1999 – If Only
- 2002 – Just for the Record
- 2008 – Ugenia Lavender
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1990 | Dance Energy | Herself | Uncredited; Only as Dancer/Stagehand |
1991 | Let's Make A Deal | Herself | Uncredited; Only as Dancer/Stagehand |
1999 | 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll | Presenter | TV show |
Al Salir de Clase | Herself | "Duelo en las calles" (Episode 63; Season 3) "Rebelión en las aulas" (Episode 65; Season 3) |
|
2002 | Bo' Selecta! | Various role | "Geri Halliwell" (Episode 4; Season 1) |
Popstars: The Rivals | Mentor/Herself/Judge | Season 1 | |
2003 | All American Girl | Mentor/Herself/Judge | Season 1 |
Sex And The City | Phoebe Herrison | "Boy, Interrupted" (Episode 10; Season 6) | |
2004 | Top Gear | Herself | "5.2" (Episode 2; Season 5) |
2008 | Friday Night Project | Presenter/Sely/Lissandra | Episode 5; Season 6 |
American Idol | Mentor/Herself/Judge | Episode 30; Season 7 | |
2009 | Head Case | Susan Galler | "Back in the Game" (Episode 5; Season 3) |
2010 | Come Fly With Me | Herself | "Pilot" (Episode 1; Season 1) |
2010—2012 | The X Factor | Mentor/Herself/Judge Judge on Liverpool auditions |
Episode 1; Season 7 Season 9 |
2012 | The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever | Herself | Documentary about the Spice Girls |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1995 | Foggy Notion | Sami | Main role |
1997 | Spiceworld | Ginger Spice | Razzie Award for Worst Actress Nominated — Razzie Award for Worst New Star Nominated — Orange Blimp Award for Favourite Film Actress Nominated — Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favourite Actress – Comedy |
1999 | Geri – A Film by Molly Dineen | Herself | TV film; Documentary |
2000 | Geri's World Walkabouts | Herself | TV film; Documentary |
Therapy | Amy Sulivan | Unreleased[44] | |
2004 | Fat Slags: The Film | Paige Stonach | Voice; Animation film |
2005 | There's Something About Geri | Herself | TV film; Documentary |
2007 | Giving You Everything | Herself | TV film; Documentary |
2009 | Crank 2: High Voltage | Karen Chelios | |
Ant & Dec's Christmas Show | Geri Doll | TV film |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | For | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Blockbuster Entertainment Award | Favourite Actress – Comedy | Spiceworld | Nominated | Shared with the Spice Girls |
MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Female | Nominated | |||
2000 | Brit Awards | Best British Female Solo Artist | Nominated | ||
Best Pop Act | Nominated | ||||
Capital FM Awards | Best British Female Singer | Won | |||
2001 | Comet Awards | Best International Female Singer | Won | ||
2002 | Brit Awards | Best British Female Solo Artist | Nominated | ||
Best British Single | "It's Raining Men" | Nominated | |||
NRJ Music Awards | International Song of the Year | "It's Raining Men" | Won | ||
International Female Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||||
2008 | Bestselling female celebrity children’s author of 2008. | Ugenia Lavender | Won |
References
- ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.) (1219): pp. 27. Aug 10, 2012.
- ^ "Ginger Spice's Departure Marks "End Of The Beginning"" (DOC). Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ginger-spices-departure-marks-end-of-the-beginning-19980602. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ a b "The first of six children’s books by Geri Halliwell" (DOC). Pan Macmillan press release. http://www.ugenialavender.com/dynamicContent/downloads/PR1.doc. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Geri Halliwell: 'My new album is ready'". Digital Spy. July 31, 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a332541/geri-halliwell-my-new-album-is-ready.html. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Deaths England and Wales 1984–2006". Findmypast.co.uk. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d Geri Halliwell, If Only
- ^ Town vs gown: north London - Telegraph
- ^ Playboy (May 1998). 1998.
- ^ Penthouse (June 1998). 1998.
- ^ Chart performances for the singles released by the Spice Girls. Retrieved from http://foreverspice.com/spicediscography/spicegirls.htm/.
- ^ On This Day (30 May 1998): "Ginger leaves the Spice Girls". BBC News.
- ^ "Spice Girls will do U.S. tour, with or without Ginger". London (AP). Saturday, 30 May 1998. Aallpop.canoe.ca.
- ^ "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". Tuesday, 18 February 2003. BBC News. Halliwell left at the peak of the Spice Girls' success, and in 2007 the five girls reunited to embark on a final world tour and released another hit, "Headlines", a song about the girls' friendship and their relationships with each other.
- ^ Geri (Documentary by Molly Dineen) at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "RIAA Certification for "Schizophonic"". Riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d Geri Halliwell – Biography at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Interview with Geri Halliwell's yoga trainer, Katy Appleton at iVillage
- ^ Spice Discography Spicediscography.co.uk
- ^ "Important Tour Announcement". Thespicegirls.com. 12 October 2007. http://www.thespicegirls.com/news/080201announcement. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Halliwell launches writing career" Retrieved 12 April 2007, BBC News
- ^ "New chapter for author Geri as she presents her 'inner brat' Ugenia". Hello Magazine. 28 April 2008. http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2008/04/28/geri-halliwell-book/. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ "Halliwell launches writing career". BBC News. 12 April 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6549521.stm. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ "Geri: Books first step to girl power". This Is Nottingham. 2008-04-29. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=244367&command=displayContent&sourceNode=244365&contentPK=20495264&folderPk=112383&pNodeId=188965&returnNodeId=188965. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ a b Ellen, Barbara (15 April 2007). "Geri blossoms". The Observer (London). http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2057295,00.html. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ^ a b Didcock, Barry (5 May 2008). "Geri Halliwell". Sunday Herald. http://www.sundayherald.com/arts/arts/display.var.2246073.0.0.php. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell writes kids' books". BBC Radio 1. 3008-04-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7375000/7375130.stm. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
- ^ The One Show Team (7 May 2009). "What did you think of the One?". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/backstage/2009/05/what-did-you-think-of-the-one-27.html. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Music – News – Halliwell: 'My solo career is over' – Digital Spy". Digital Spy<!. 29 April 2008. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a94872/halliwell-my-solo-career-is-over.html. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Moodie, Clemmie and Lawler, Danielle (3 April 2010). "Geri Halliwell is back in the studio and wants to get back on the road". Daily Mirror (Trinity Mirror). http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/04/03/geri-halliwell-is-back-in-the-studio-and-wants-to-get-back-on-the-road-115875-22158793/. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Halliwell joins X Factor judging panel". www.rte.ie. 10 June 2010. http://www.rte.ie/ten/2010/0610/xfactor2.html?TB_iframe=true&height=650&width=850. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- ^ Jody Thompson (30 December 2010). "Look at me! Geri Halliwell makes her design debut to launch – and model – her own swimwear range for the High Street. Due to the popularity she released a clothes range as well as more bikinis". The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1342493/Geri-Halliwell-models-new-swimwear-range-High-Street.html. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell plans chart comeback!". Heatworld. 20 May 2011. http://www.heatworld.com/Entertainment/Music/2011/05/Geri-Halliwell-plans-chart-comeback/#. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell: 'My new album will be released very soon'". Digital Spy. February 3, 2012. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a363770/geri-halliwell-new-album-will-be-released-very-soon.html. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell Planning Solo Comeback". 4Music. September 08, 2012. http://www.4music.com/news/news/5966/Geri-Halliwell-planning-solo-comeback#. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell debuts new single 'Phenomenal Woman' - video". Digital Spy. October 04, 2012. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a410277/geri-halliwell-debuts-new-single-phenomenal-woman-video.html. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell set to sign a new solo album deal". The Mirror. October 06, 2012. http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/going-out/music/geri-halliwell-set-to-sign-a-new-1363100. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ Parker, Nick (15 May 2006). "A Spice Girl for Geri". The Sun (News International). http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006220274,00.html. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Daily Telegraph, 16 May 2006
- ^ "Famous godparents - Bluebell Halliwell and Victoria Beckham - Supanet Gallery". Supanet.com. http://www.supanet.com/famous-godparents-g1673p3.html. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- ^ Nilufer Atik, Geri's Christianity conversion, The Daily Mail
- ^ Hyde, Marina (29 May 2004). "This week". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1227333,00.html. Retrieved 8 May 2010. "In the history of British celebs wading into politics, then, there have been minimal bright moments. Xfm DJ Lauren Laverne (then in rival band Kenickie) dismissing the Spice Girls as "Tory scum", for instance..."
- ^ "Campaigning with the stars". BBC News. 14 May 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/newsid_1319000/1319508.stm. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Tories dismiss Geri's Labour role". BBC News. 14 May 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/newsid_1328000/1328626.stm.
- ^ "Geri Halliwell’s ‘Therapy’ Cancelled". Pop Dirt. http://popdirt.com/geri-halliwells-therapy-cancelled/11820/. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
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