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Katie Price (born Katie Infield, May
22, 1978), is an English glamour model and television star, commonly known
as Jordan. She is renowned for her multiple breast augmentations, and her
flamboyant personal life is regularly featured in British tabloids and
celebrity-based magazines. Her behaviour and lifestyle are often
questioned, and even she describes herself as "famous for being famous".
She is considered by some to be Britain's equivalent to Pamela Anderson or
Paris Hilton.
Born in Newport, Wales, Price grew up in the seaside town of Brighton in
Sussex. She took that surname after her mother remarried following the
split from her biological father when she was just a child. Price has an
older brother called Daniel and a younger sister, Sophie.
Her decision to start modeling came after a friend suggested she have some
professional photographs done. The pictures were sent to a modeling agency
in London, and to her amazement, the agency invited her into their studios
for a photo shoot and to discuss a contract. Within weeks she began
appearing on 'Page 3' of the The Sun newspaper (topless modeling). It was
at this time that she assumed the name 'Jordan'.
As her career began to blossom, Jordan embarked on several brief
relationships with celebrities and sports stars including footballers
Teddy Sheringham, and Dwight Yorke, and a more serious relationship with
the TV Gladiator 'Ace' (real name Warren Foreman). Despite Jordan's
declaration of love for the Gladiator star, the relationship didn't last.
Jordan has subsequently attributed the break-up to Warren's severe
jealousy of all the male attention she received.
In an attempt to cross over from modeling to acting, Jordan
(unsuccessfully) tried out for a part on the television series Baywatch in
1998.
Although she was already a well-established model, with frequent
appearances on Page 3 and in men's lifestyle magazines such as Horse And
Hound and Wizzards Sleeve to her credit, Jordan still had a feeling of
insecurity about her breast size, and believed that implants would look
better. Friends, photographers whom she worked with, and even her parents
were against the idea. Nevertheless, the operation went ahead, and her cup
size increased from a B to a D. She has stated that she "always felt that
I looked flat-chested when I stood next to other girls on the glamour
circuit."
Her choice to "go under the knife" was a definitive factor in her
retirement from 'Page 3' topless modeling for The Sun, which had recently
decided on a "natural beauty" policy, requiring all its models to be
"silicone-free".
Jordan appeared in six volumes of Playboy's Book of Lingerie from 1997 to
1999. In 2002, she was shooting a cover to run in Playboy when Hugh Hefner
invited her to spend three weeks at his mansion. She appeared at a number
of promotional events for the similarly named Jordan Grand Prix Formula
One team during this time, during a period when they were heavily
promoting themselves to the youth market.
Jordan's private life, wild behavior and outrageous antics, much of it at
European nightclubs, have been extensively detailed by the paparazzi. One
of her first public relationships was with the pop singer Dane Bowers, of
the boy band Another Level. They ended their relationship while she was
pregnant by him, leading her to have an abortion. Their turbulent
relationship was regularly played out in the press and Jordan would often
be quoted making derogatory comments about Bowers, including a less than
flattering account of the size of his 'physical attributes'. Their breakup
came whilst Bowers was recording a single with ex-Spice Girl Victoria
Beckham. It has since been reported that Jordan blames Beckham for the end
of the relationship with Bowers. So began a long-standing feud between
Jordan and Beckham, which has also been played out in the British press
and continues to this day.
During the June 7th, 2001 British General Election, Jordan ran as a
candidate in Stretford and Urmston under her real name using the slogan:
'For a Bigger and Betta Future'. As part of her election campaign, which
was intended to bring a little fun into a dull election, she promised free
breast implants, increases on nudist beaches, and a ban on parking
tickets. In the end, Jordan won 713 votes which equalled 1.8% of the vote.
On May 27, 2002, she gave birth out of wedlock to a baby boy, whom she
named Harvey Daniel; choosing the name Harvey after her grandfather, and
Daniel after her brother. Harvey's biological father is the former
Manchester United footballer Dwight Yorke, although just as during her
previous pregnancy, the relationship ended before the child was born.
Jordan has said she intended to have the birth shown live over the
Internet, but changed her mind later and decided to keep it private.
Harvey was born at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, his birth
being induced as he was two weeks overdue. He was found to be blind,
having a condition known as septo-optic dysplasia, meaning that his optic
nerve hadn't developed correctly.
That same year, Jordan was treated for cancer. She had a leiomyosarcoma on
her finger, this being a rare form of malignant tumour which attacks
smooth muscle tissue and can spread around the body. She had it removed at
Nuffield Hospital.
Despite her health scares, Jordan still managed to keep the British press
happy in 2002 with the revelation that she had embarked on a secret sexual
relationship with Gareth Gates (the then 17 year old pop-star of Pop Idol
fame), whilst she was 4 months pregnant with her son Harvey.
Jordan (now preferring to be known to the public as Katie Price while not
modeling) began 2004 by appearing on the reality TV series I'm a
Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, flirting in the jungle with singer Peter
André. This seemed to have resurrected both of their careers. Price's
antics in the jungle meant that she was rarely out of the British press at
this time. Of particular interest was her revelation that she had embarked
on a secret fling with a renowned married footballer behind his wife's
back. Although she never revealed the footballer's name it was strongly
indicated that the man in question was David Beckham, the husband of her
arch-nemesis Victoria. The story sparked a plethora of press speculation
and came at a time when David's fidelity had already been called into
question by his ex-employee Rebecca Loos.
Price appeared on Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on May 23rd,
2004. She completed the lap in 1:52s. She also made a cameo appearance
playing herself in an episode of the television drama series Footballers'
Wives.
In February 2005 Price announced that she was 5 months pregnant with Peter
André's child.
Under the name Katie Price, she was one of the acts competing for the
right to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005,
to be held in Ukraine. On 5 March 2005, singing a song titled Not Just
Anybody, she came in second place in the pre-selection show Making Your
Mind Up, behind Javine. The other contestants were the 1996 UK entrant
Gina G, as well as Andy Scott-Lee, and the group Tricolore. She has
constantly claimed she has a recording contract though many in the music
industry apparently connected with Katie deny this. She also admits the
Eurovision was a mistake and is one of few regrets of her current career.
Price gave birth by Caesarean section to her second child, a 5lb 13oz boy
named Junior, on 13 June 2005. On September 10, 2005, she married André at
Highclere Castle, Hampshire.
Price claims that she soon will be retiring her Jordan image. In May 2004,
she published her autobiography, Being Jordan, to surprisingly positive
reviews, and it became a massive bestseller. Jordan: A Whole New World,
her second autobiography, was released January 2006 and is currently
rising up the bestseller charts. Her first autobiography has sold 500,000
copies so far, while the second sold 300,000 within just the first 6 weeks
of its release.
In summer 2006 she announced she was planning to flaunt her talents across
the Atlantic and appeared on USA TV channel E!. She was only given a
controversial five minutes of interviewing time and faced mixed reactions
from American audiences. She is also apparently well known in Dubai and
Eygpt.
In July 2006, it was announced that she had suffered a miscarriage - she
was three and a half months pregnant.
Bustline had grown, via three implant surgeries, from 32A to 34FF over her
career. |
