|
Ford was born in Ruskin, Florida and
raised on her parents', Ralph Everett and Donna Williford, farm. As a
young girl, she studied opera and began pursuing a singing career at age
eight, when she joined the Tampa Bay Children's Choir. By age eleven, she
had become a member of the Tampa-based Children's Performing Arts Troupe
Entertainment Revue, which consisted of twenty girls, ages five-sixteen,
who toured the area and sang at places such as Walt Disney World Resort
and Busch Gardens. Ford advanced from the chorus to the role of featured
soloist. When she was fifteen, she left the troupe and landed a spot with
a local foursome called FLA but did not remain long before heading to Los
Angeles, California.
On the Fox News Channel late night show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld (June 26,
2007), Ford said she had a 4.25 GPA when she left high school at the end
of her junior year to start her professional career, but that she had to
obtain a GED rather than graduate. She has also admitted to cheating her
way through school and owes much of her educational success to her fellow
classmates for helping her with her school work until she later dropped
out at the end of her junior year to pursue her singing career.
In 1999, Ford, performing under the stage name Mandah, signed with MCA,
which released her song "Lullaby" on the double platinum soundtrack
Pokemon: The First Movie. She also landed a spot as an opening act for the
Backstreet Boys. This not only brought her attention for her performances
but also for her relationship with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.
Soon Ford's label had her change her stage name to Willa Ford, so as to
avoid confusion with Mandy Moore, and promoted her as a beautiful singer
with a "good girl" image. After negative publicity tainted her clean-cut
image, MCA dropped her and let her move to a label that would embrace her
"bad girl" image.
During a mall tour for Nautica Kids, Lava/Atlantic Records noticed Ford.
Shortly thereafter, Lava/Atlantic gave Ford a deal and put her into their
recording studio with a diverse group of writers and producers. Unlike
some teen singers, Ford preferred to write most of her lyrics.
On July 17, 2001, Ford released her debut album Willa Was Here, containing
the single "I Wanna Be Bad." The album used pop/R&B grooves, dance beats
and vocoders. Despite this hit single, the album reached only No. 56 on
the Billboard 200 album chart. Ford is one of the few female artists that
can access the whistle register as displayed in her song "Ooh Ooh".
Also in 2001, Ford served as the spokesperson for Pantene Pro-V's
Pro-Voice campaign and appeared on the in-concert cable special
Teensation. Ford also hosted MTV's Total Request Live and Say What
Karaoke. She then won a contract with MTV.
In 2002, Ford co-wrote and sang a duet with South Korean pop star Park
Ji-yoon entitled "Nastified," which appeared on Ji-yoon's fifth album,
Man. Throughout 2003, Ford hosted The Morning After and a reality series;
I Bet You Will. Ford's song, "I Wanna Be Bad," became the theme song for
the Six Flags amusement park chain and was also used by 7 Up for an
advertising campaign. The hit single was also featured on the Totally Hits
collection. Ford also modeled for Bongo clothing.
During Ford’s appearances, hosting and modeling, she began working on her
untitled second album which contained the songs “F.U.” and “I Gotta
Feeling”. Although fans were excited to hear new material, Ford wanted to
ditch it and start over. In 2003, Ford released the female empowerment
dance song "A Toast to Men," which featured guest rapper Lady May. The
single was from her unreleased second album Sexysexobsessive, which Ford
originally wanted to call Porn Poetry, but Ford's record label did not
agree with her "because that's not something that Wal-Mart will put on
their shelves." "A Toast to Men" did well but, because of legal problems,
the album was not released. This caused Ford to leave the label.
The album also contained the title track “Sexysexobsessive” about the way
sex can over take people’s whole lives. In “I See You” Ford, sings about a
previous relationship. Likewise “Cry” also deals with a past relationship
in which she had to kiss that boy, who was so closed down, to make him cry
and open up. As for “Who I Am, Who I Am”, Ford tells a story though the
eyes of a gay person as she sings, “I’m sorry if I disappoint you, but
this is who I am.” She also lives out a part of a woman being used for sex
through prostitution, on prom night and other situations, in “Into My
Bed”. Another song that was mentioned was "Pieces", but nothing was told
about the subject it discussed.
She was ranked #100 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2004. She ranked #1 in
Stuff's Sexiest Women of the Summer in 2005. She ranked #48 in the Stuff's
101 Sexiest Online Women in 2006.
In 2005, she hosted the first season of the reality television show The
Ultimate Fighter. After its final episode, Ford got a shot as the summer
guest "doll" for the Pussycat Dolls' Las Vegas show.
In 2006, Ford was one of the four celebrity quarterbacks for the Dallas
Desire in the third Lingerie Bowl, which was shown on pay-per-view during
half-time of Super Bowl XL. In February, Ford proved yet again to be the
"Bad Girl of Pop" by posing nude for the March 2006 issue of Playboy with
Jessica Alba on the cover. The pictorial shows her with almost all her
pubic hair removed.
In February 2006, Ford joined Nicollette Sheridan, Cindy Margolis, and DJ
AM for a special Valentine's Day show at Club Pure in Las Vegas. Ford
became a celebrity poker player on Calvin Ayre's Poker Wild Card in April.
In the May issue of Stuff Magazine, Ford ranked No. 48 in the "101 Sexiest
Online Women" competition and hosted the Love Jones Lingerie Fashion Show
at Body English in Las Vegas later that month.
On August 14, 2006, on national television, Lisa Rinna announced the
competitors, which included Ford, for the third season of Dancing with the
Stars, which premiered on September 12 on ABC. Some contestants, including
Ford, had already been guessed days before Rinna's announcement on Good
Morning America. Rumors were being circulated because of an article about
Ford's close friend and former boyfriend UFC champ Chuck Liddell.
Ford and her professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy were voted off
Dancing with the Stars on October 11, 2006 after five weeks of
competition. On October 12, it was announced that for personal reasons,
Sara Evans would be dropping out of the show.
On November 1, 2006, Ford returned to the televised result show of Dancing
With the Stars, where she performed Fame, making her the first celebrity
to be a contestant and performer on the show. On November 8, 2006, Ford
returned to Dancing With the Stars again, but this time to perform a group
jive and promote the upcoming tour. Ford also appeared a third time after
her elimination on the November 15, 2006 season finale of Dancing With the
Stars, when all the dancers and stars returned for their final dance
number before crowning Emmitt Smith the third season's champion.
Ford appeared on an EXTRA special undergoing an "Ugly Betty Make-Over"
which aired on November 2, 2006 on the popular entertainment news
television show. Ford also did a photoshoot for Maxim that is out in
January 2007.
In an interview with the magazine Starry Constellation, Ford said that she
has decided to concentrate on her music career and that once Dancing with
the Stars is over, she plans to complete her second album. On
Thanksgiving, Ford was given an engagement ring by hockey player Mike
Modano. The couple were wed in a small, private ceremony August 25th,
2007. She also announced to Access Hollywood that she was dropping out of
the Dancing With The Stars Tour and will be working on the new pop-dance
album instead.
Ford gave a tour of her home, appearing on an episode of "My Celebrity
Home" on the Style Network on February 7. In March, she hosted the third
season of Pants Off Dance Off on Fuse TV.
The Insider with Pat O'Brien announced on April 10, 2007 that Willa Ford
will be playing the role of Anna Nicole Smith in a television movie about
the life and death of the late celebrity. The film was shot between April
and May 2007 and will be released in 2008. Ford also had her face molded
and body suited to portray Smith in her heavier-set years for the movie.
The biopic "Anna Nicole" marks Ford's first lead role in a film.
Ford will be playing the lead character named Claire Dennison in a movie
called "Impulse" with Angus MacFadyen. The film was shot in Vancouver. The
plot line is about a young woman named Claire who enjoys a brief fling
with a sexy stranger (a dead ringer for her husband), only to realize that
the object of her desire is a crazed, manipulative, and tenacious
psychopath. The movie is set to be released in 2008.
Ford dated Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys from 1998 to 2001. She has
also dated Christopher Jones and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Chuck Liddell.
While rumoured to be dating Modano, on the third episode of Dancing with
the Stars, host Samantha Harris remarked to Ford and her dance partner,
Maksim Chmerkovskiy, "Wow, you two have really fallen for each other." The
couple looked stunned but did not deny it. In the segment preceding their
Jive dance, they confirmed having "bonded way beyond the dance floor."
In an interview with ABC after the Jive performance they were prodded by a
reporter about their relationship status, Ford stated, "We are not an
official couple." Maks followed this with, "Right. Not official."
After their elimination from Dancing with the Stars, Chmerkovskiy posted
on his official Web site, "Willa and I have become very close friends. I
really like her and we are having a great time together. If you don't mind
I would like to leave it at that." After Thanksgiving in November 2006, he
announced his intentions to withdraw from the tour and stated clearly that
the pair were not dating.
Ford reported to Access Hollywood that she is in fact, engaged to Mike
Modano. They had been dating on and off for the past four years excluding
the year she was living with Chuck Liddell, with Ford making that
announcement at the end of November. According to an interview with Access
Hollywood she stated that Modano popped the question in bed at the end of
October and presented Ford with an engagement ring over Thanksgiving. She
has also decided to pull out of The Tour along with Chmerkovskiy, and is
opting to work on her next album.
Ford married Modano in Athens, Texas on August 25, 2007, in a private,
sunset ceremony at the East Texas Barefoot Ranch, owned by Dallas
businessman Benny & Stephanie Bray. She wore a wedding gown she designed
herself. The couple bought a home in the Dallas area and hope to start a
family soon. |
