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Rachel Stevens Profile |
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Birth Date: April 9, 1978
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Birth Place: London, England, UK
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Birth Name: Rachel Lauren Stevens
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Height: 5'3"
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Biography |
Mark April 9th down on your calendar, for this is the day
you should observe a very important celebration: Rachel
Lauren Stevens' birthday, of course. Born in 1978 in London,
England, she showed a flair for entertaining even as a
toddler. At 5 years old, she had already begun drama school,
but gravitated toward fashion as the years wore on. An early
highlight came at the age of 15, when she beat out 4999
competitors in a modeling competition sponsored by Just 17
magazine.
After attending the London School of Fashion and working in
PR, Stevens changed her mind, and gravitated toward a career
in music instead -- she had always displayed a real talent
for singing. An audition for a new British pop band came up,
and, after several cuts and callbacks, Stevens was selected
as one of the seven members of the band, joining Bradley
McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Jo
O'Meara, and Tina Barrett.
Called S Club 7, the group and its managers at Polydor
Records aimed to find a niche in the very convoluted UK pop
market. They did this by marketing an array of both
fast-paced tracks and ballads while simultaneously working
on a TV deal.
Fame was almost immediate for this group of talented twenty-somethings,
as their first single "Bring It All Back" debuted at No. 1
on the UK charts in June of 1999. "S Club Party" followed up
as their No. 2 hit in September, and their self-titled album
sold like hotcakes on the strength of these hits. Their
success spurned the debut of their popular TV series S Club
7 in Miami. The winter ushered in the song "Two In A
Million" and, of course, more success.
Though at times restrained in the group's wholesome,
teeny-bopper image, Stevens reveled in the spotlight and
received most of the media attention as the band's hottest
member. More flattering comments came after Interscope
Records picked up the band's American distribution rights in
2000, and released the band's albums across the ocean.
Always working on -- and writing -- new songs, 7 saw their
fan base grow with two more hits in the spring: "Don't Stop
Movin'" and "Never Had a Dream Come True."
Despite some trials and tribulations, including a
controversy over a marijuana possession charge implicating
the three male members of S Club, the band, and Stevens in
particular, continued to soar. Another season of their show
was filmed in 2000 and, the following year, readers of FHM
voted Stevens the second sexiest woman on the planet, behind
only the heavenly Jennifer Lopez. Other magazines, such as
Arena, also concentrated on this beauty's natural assets
around the same time.
The same accolades from FHM were laid upon Stevens the
following year, but she seemed to be the only rising star
among her peers at this point. S Club 7's output had
deteriorated a little, though they could still hold claim to
selling 13 million tracks and records overall. The show S
Club in Hollywood did not have the same effect as its
predecessor and things were lackluster. Paul Cattermole left
the band, and for a while, the six remaining members stayed
afloat as S Club, even filming a relatively successful movie
together, called S Club Seeing Double, in 2003.
After a UK tour in 2003, S Club decided to break up. Stevens
alone managed to garner a lot of coverage thanks to an
upcoming movie feature, Suzie Gold with Summer Phoenix, and
the announcement of her engagement to boyfriend Jeremy
Edwards (sorry fellas). Polydor jumped at the chance to
harness this talent (and potential pop diva) and signed
Stevens to just under a $1.6 million US contract, good for
four albums. The first effort, Funky Dory, will be released
in September 2003 and many are convinced that a solo star is
in the making. We sure hope so, since seeing her face in the
music headlines every day would really help us get up in the
morning... |
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Other
Information |
Her starsign is Aries.
With the end of S Club 7, Miss Stevens has signed a
four-album solo deal with Polydor Records and has agreed to
become a spokesmodel for Pretty Polly tights and hosiery.
Was a professional model before joining Sclub7.
Voted #2 Sexiest Women in FHM 2002.
Took part in the Band Aid 20 re-recording of "Do They Know
It's Christmas?". [14 November 2004]
Won a Glammy Award at the British Glamour magazine's Women
of the Year Awards held in Berkeley Square Gardens, London,
England on June 7, 2005. She won for Woman of the Year.
The song 'Fit but Don't you Know It' by Mike Skinner and The
Streets is based on her.
Split from her fiancé, Jeremy Edwards, in January 2004. A
statement issued by the couple said "Sometimes things just
don't work out no matter how hard you try. We still care for
each other and are great friends and although it is very
sad, we know that our decision is the right one." |
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