Cheryl Cole – from rags to riches
The current darling of UK gossip magazines and worth a cool £25 million, X Factor host Cheryl Cole is certainly one of the most famous women in Britain. After enjoying a string of chart hits with Girls Aloud, the singer released her first solo effort in 2009. The single, ‘Fight for This Love’, entered the UK and Irish Singles Charts at number one, and was the fastest selling track of the year at the time of release. This was followed up by the release of her debut solo album, ‘3 Words’, and a lucrative contract as the new face of L’Oréal. Her rise to fame has been so rapid and so comprehensive, that Cheryl is now seen as the heir to Victoria Beckham, and the unofficial title of ‘People’s Princess’.
However, life hasn’t always been so easy for the young star. Cheryl Tweedy grew up in the poor Newcastle districts of Walker and Heaton, to parents who separated when she was just eleven. She has a brother, two half brothers and a half sister, with the former having spent time in and out of prison. Despite flirting with modelling and dancing as a youngster, Cheryl left school at 16 with few qualifications, taking a job as a waitress in a local restaurant – just another poor kid living a hard-knock life, with fading hopes and dreams.
Three years later came the moment that would change her life forever, when Cheryl auditioned for the 2002 reality TV show, ‘Popstars: The Rivals’. After weeks of surviving the public vote, Cheryl made it through to the final, along with Sarah Harding, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts. Mentored by Louis Walsh, the five singers became Girls Aloud, and went up against Pete Waterman’s One True Voice in competition to win the show. The group’s resulting single, ‘Sound of the Underground’, secured the Christmas number one position in the UK singles chart, and launched what was to be a staggeringly successful career for Girls Aloud.
Since winning ‘Popstars: The Rivals’, Girls Aloud have sold over ten million records worldwide, and released twenty further singles. All but one have made the top ten of the UK singles chart, with fifteen of them getting to the top five, and three – ‘I’ll Stand by You’, ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘The Promise’ – reaching number one. Although they collectively decided on taking a break in 2009, in order to pursue solo ventures, Girls Aloud plan to reunite in 2010 for a new album.
Despite undoubted success in her career as a singer and TV presenter, Cheryl’s private life has not always run as smoothly. In 2003, shortly after the debut success of Girls Aloud, Cheryl became involved in a physical altercation with a nightclub toilet attendant. Although subsequently cleared of racially aggravated assault charges, Cheryl was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and sentenced to community service. Her personal life appeared to take a turn for the better in 2004, when she began dating footballer Ashley Cole, and the pair eventually married in 2006. However, after a string of infidelity claims during the course of their union, Cheryl decided to split with Ashley in February 2010.
Although her life has had its twists and turns, with pleasure and pain in equal measure, Cheryl Cole is not one to lick her wounds. After divorcing Ashley in May 2010, Cheryl launched herself into plans for a second album, and auditions for the new series of the X-Factor. It seems that little can keep her down, and with Simon Cowell describing her as the ‘most popular person on TV’, it seems the public love her for it.
