Katie Price

by Mark DemingKatie Price was already one of the most famous women in Great Britain before she released her first album in late 2006 -- also known as Jordan, Price began her career as a model and has become a one-woman media empire in the U.K., having published books, written newspaper columns, hosted television shows, starred in an exercise video, and marketed her own line of lingerie. Born Katie Infield on May 22, 1978, Price grew up in the oceanside resort community of Brighton in East Essex, England, and while friends have described her as a late bloomer, when she turned 16 she went to a professional photographer to create a modeling portfolio on the advice of a friend. Using the pseudonym Jordan, Price soon found work as a "Page Three Girl," posing for the topless cheesecake photos which are a traditional feature of British tabloids, and it wasn't long before she was appearing in the pages of "lad rags" such as Maxim, FHM, and Front. In 1998, Price's fame grew to new heights when she had breast enhancement surgery, expanding her already impressive bustline to a remarkable D cup, which she regarded as a savvy business decision -- as she told a reporter, "Some people may be famous for creating a pencil sharpener. I'm famous for my tits." (Ironically one of Britain's leading tabloids, the Sun, barred Price from their pages after announcing they would only hire "all natural" models.) Price next began appearing regularly in the British edition of Playboy magazine, and made the cover of the American edition in 2002. Price's private life also began drawing attention, as she was romantically linked with British football stars Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham, pop singers Dane Bowers and Gareth Gates, and Warren Foreman, better known as "Ace" on the British television series Gladiators. Price's celebrity soon brought her to television; she was a contestant on the reality series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, tried her hand at auto racing on Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, and appeared as herself on an episode of Footballer's Wives. While working on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Price met singer Peter Andre, and the two hit it off; they became parents of a baby boy in June 2005 and were wed three months later. With Price already an established writer, having published two autobiographies and contributing an advice column to OK magazine, music was one of the few fields left for her to conquer, and in 2005 Price was one of the artists representing England in the Eurovision Song Contest. While her appearance on Eurovision received mixed notices, Price and Andre teamed up to record a duet album, A Whole New World, which was released in late November 2006; the title track became a hit single, and the couple donated their proceeds from the recording to children's charities.