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Sophie Ellis Bextor Profile |
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Birth Date: April 10, 1979
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Birth Place: London, England, UK
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Birth Name: Sophie Ellis Bextor
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Height: 5'9"
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Biography |
Sophie Ellis Bextor was born in April of 1979 in a hospital
in West Middlesex, England, and raised in nearby Twickenham.
Her parents both worked in the television industry; her
father, Robin Bextor, as a producer and her mother, Janet
Ellis, as the host of the children's show Blue Peter --
which made for a particularly unique upbringing for young
Sophie.
British celebrities ranked among family friends, and the
Ellis-Bextor household frequently served as the set for
program shoots. Yet, this fanfare aside, it should be noted
that Sophie's childhood was not an altogether pleasant one.
Because of her mother's television status, Sophie was the
object of ridicule at her private school, the prestigious
Godolphin and Latymer. At the age of four, she witnessed her
parents' messy divorce, and was later forced to adjust to
their remarriages and the accompanying arrival of five new
half-siblings.
From a young age, Sophie played the guitar and by her late
teens, her musical interests had expanded to include
singing. At age 17, Sophie met the musician Billy Reeves in
a nightclub called Uncle Bob's Wedding Reception, and gave
him one of her demo tapes. Impressed with her voice, Reeves
invited Sophie to become the lead singer for an indie band
he was starting, called theaudience, and her professional
career began.
theaudience proved a fairly successful enterprise, enough to
prompt Sophie to forego an opportunity to attend Queen Mary
College at London University in favor of promoting the
band's 1998 debut self-titled album. This first release was
met with some critical acclaim, and two of its singles
entered the UK Top 30 chart.
After rejecting an offer to play as the opening act on a
1998 Robbie Williams tour (a refusal that Williams didn't
take well), the group's members began work on a second
album, but bickering among them slowed production
drastically. Soon the in-band feuding had escalated to such
an extent that the group's label, Mercury Records, dumped
them, and by 1999, theaudience was dead.
Following the collapse of theaudience, Sophie spent a few
months working as a print model, appearing in such magazines
as Cosmopolitan and Company, as well as doing a topless
spread in a pulp weekly. After then trying her hand at
writing a novel (an attempt that did not extend beyond a few
chapters), Sophie began looking to resume a music career,
this time on her own.
In 2000, Sophie's publisher sent her a track from Italian DJ
Christiano Spiller with an adjoining request that she supply
the vocals and lyrics for it. The end result was "Groovejet
(If This Ain't Love)," a song that became the British club
anthem of the summer. The "Groovejet" single was slated for
release in August of 2000, during the same week that
witnessed the release of former Spice Girl, Victoria
Beckham's debut solo single, Out of Your Mind.
The British tabloids capitalized on the opportunity to
declare a "race to the top of the singles charts" and
dedicated a host of columns to covering the purported
animosity between the two singers. Regardless of how
contrived it may have been, the additional press didn't hurt
Sophie's visibility, and neither did "Groovejet"'s eventual
emergence in the #1 spot on the UK Singles Charts.
The outstanding success of "Groovejet" led Sophie to a deal
with Polydor Records, and she immediately began working on
her debut album. In August of 2001, the album's first
single, a remake of Cher's "Take Me Home," was released,
debuting at #2 on the Singles Charts. The album itself, Read
My Lips, found its way into stores later that month, and the
second single, "Murder on the Dancefloor," debuted at #2 in
December of 2001.
All of Sophie's releases enjoyed good sales throughout that
year, and her professional career was aided in great part by
a public spotlight that seemed perpetually focused on her.
Sophie has become the object of countless tabloid rumors,
ranging from a supposed pregnancy to purported upcoming
roles on Friends and the next James Bond film, most of which
have been revealed as false.
Sophie's next single, "Get Over You," was released in the UK
on June 10th, 2002, and she was seen on the Brit Awards
later that month, where she was nominated for the Award for
Best British Female Solo Artist (the award went to Dido).
While a date has yet to be set for her second album, it
remains nonetheless highly anticipated, thanks in great part
to supposed collaborations with Moby, which weren't
completed in time for her debut.
In contrast to the one presented in the British weeklies,
Sophie's personal life remains fairly quiet. She currently
resides in the Swiss Cottage neighborhood of North London
with her DJ boyfriend of five years, Andy Bond. |
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Other
Information |
Sophie's mother is Ex-Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis
Scored a no. 1 hit with her collaboration with Italian DJ
Spiller, Groovejet [If This Ain't Love].
The video to her first solo single, Take Me Home, was made
by Prince Edward's production company, Argent.
Received the Recording Artiste Award at The Variety Club
Showbusiness Awards 2002.
Was in a band called 'theaudience'.
Her son, Sonny, with her bassist boyfriend, Richard Jones
was born on 23rd April 2004. He was born by caesarean
section eight weeks early.
Was in a band called 'theaudience'.
Her grandfather is an expert in special effects.
Her grandfather spelled her name wrong. It's supposed to be
Baxter, not Bextor.
Her father is the director Robin Bextor. He directed many of
her music promos and her 2003 DVD Watch My Lips |
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