Emma Bunton

Emma Bunton
Performing during the The Return of the Spice Girls in Las Vegas, Nevada on 11 December 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Emma Lee Bunton
Also known as	Baby/Baby Spice
Born	21 January 1976 (1976-01-21) (age 35) Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Origin	London, England, UK
Genres	Pop, adult contemporary
Occupations	Singer–songwriter, actress
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Virgin, 19/Universal
Associated acts	Spice Girls
Website	Official website

Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English pop singer–songwriter and actress. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010 she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing On Ice and is the host of Channel 5's Don't Stop Believing

Early life

Bunton was born in Finchley, raised a Catholic, and grew up in Woodside Park.^[1] Her parents, Pauline, a karate instructor, and Trevor, a milkman, split up when she was 11, after which she stayed with her mother. She has a younger brother, Paul James.^[2] Bunton went to St. Theresa's primary school, in Finchley, then Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone. She appeared briefly in the BBC series EastEnders in 1992 as a mugger.^[3] In 1993 she appeared in the ITV1 police series, The Bill, and also made a brief appearance as a prostitute in the BBC drama series To Play the King.

Music career

Spice Girls: 1993–2008

She joined the Spice Girls (then called Touch) in 1993 after Michelle Stephenson left. The Spice Girls sold over 85 million albums^[4], with Spice in 1996, Spiceworld in 1997, and Forever in 2000. Bunton was called Baby Spice because she was the youngest, had long blonde pigtails, wore babydoll dresses and had a girly girl personality.

The debut single "Wannabe" was the first of nine number ones in the United Kingdom and reached the top in 37 countries. As a songwriter, Bunton set the shortest time to achieve six #1 UK singles, one year and five months from Wannabe to Too Much. In 1999 she presented Emma on VH1. She recorded "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" for the film Pokémon: The First Movie. The Spice Girls stopped recording in 2000; reformed in June 2007 for The Return of the Spice Girls tour and the Greatest Hits CD.

Solo career: 2001–07

Her debut solo album A Girl Like Me brought the UK number-one "What Took You So Long?" as well as top five hits "What I Am" (a cover of a 1988 song by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians) and "Take My Breath Away" and the top 20 hit "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album sold 125,000 copies in the UK. Disappointing sales led to Bunton's leaving Virgin in 2002.^[5]

Bunton's second album Free Me was in 2003 through 19 Entertainment/Universal Records. It was successful and had four singles, "Free Me", "Maybe", "I'll Be There" and "Crickets Sing For Anamaria". After success in the American dance charts the album was sold in North America. The American edition included remixes and a different cover .

In November 2006, Bunton released the charity single for the BBC Children in Need appeal, recording Petula Clark's '60s "Downtown". It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and was followed by her third studio album, Life in Mono on 4 December. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at 65, selling 13,000 copies in its first week. It has sold around 48.000 copies in the UK. The second single from it was "All I Need to Know", on 12 February 2007, intended for Valentine's Day . Bunton shot the video around Old Street in east London, in the week before Christmas 2006.^[6] Entering the UK Singles Chart at 60, "All I Need to Know" became Bunton's lowest-charting single of her solo career.

New Songs: 2009

In 2009 several of Bunton's unreleased songs were published on the internet, including demos and discarded tracks from studio albums ("Crazy", "Crazy Beautiful", "Secrets", "To Have And To Let Go" and "In Another Life") and a new unknown song: "Ladylike".

Television, film and radio

In October 2006, Bunton was a contestant in the BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Darren Bennett. She finished third, the last female contestant to be eliminated. In January 2010, Bunton was a judge on Dancing On Ice.

Performances on Strictly Come Dancing (2006)

Other appearances

She has also appeared in other roles in recent years, most notably in the fifth and final season of Absolutely Fabulous playing herself in two episodes.^[7][8] She has also guest-presented the television programmes, T4 and hosted her own show Emma for VH1 in 1999. In August 2006, former Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller announced that he was planning a television sitcom based around Bunton.^[9]

In 2005, Bunton filmed guest roles in two Bollywood films: Pyaar Mein Twist and Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets.

Bunton has been seen in a high-profile television commercial for the supermarket chain Tesco. She also had a cameo role on the Australian soap opera Neighbours as herself on the episode titled "What's a Spice Girl Like You...?", aired on 19 March 2007 in Australia, and on 25 May 2007 in the UK. Bunton returned to US screens with a nationwide commercial for Prego in May 2007.

In July 2008, Bunton stood in as co-presenter alongside Richard Madeley on the UK television show Richard & Judy while Judy Finnigan was recovering from a knee operation.

She is planning on making a return to acting as stated on her blog.

Bunton was also co-hosting ITV's For one night only on 28 September 2008.

In October 2008, Bunton appeared on the UK series of The X Factor to assist judge Dannii Minogue in choosing the three best over-25s acts to take to the live X Factor finals.

In December 2008 Bunton debuted as a member of the panel on Loose Women on ITV.

In February and again between May and June 2009 she starred as guest presenter on Heart London's Heart Breakfast alongside Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott.^[10] Bunton will be hosting her own radio show on Heart; she will be hosting the Saturday afternoon slot 4pm - 7pm starting on Saturday 13 June.^[11]

In February 2010 Bunton appeared in a UK National Television campaign first aired during Coronation Street,^[12] showing her in the Heart Radio studios at the start and the end of the advert. The soundtrack is Sharleen Spiteri singing Xanadu, the original Olivia Newton-John and ELO song.

In summer 2010 she presented the Five program Don't Stop Believing.

Dancing on Ice: 2010–present

In January 2010, Emma joined the "Ice Panel" on ITV dancing show Dancing on Ice replacing former judge Ruthie Henshall. There has been some criticism of her role on the show as she has little skating experience herself. She is meant to represent the "performance" element, however other people have been suggested as an alternative.

Filmography

Film

Television

|GMTV With Lorraine |2010 || Herself/Presenter

• ¹: Emma presented the program Richard and Judy while Judy Finnigan was recovering from a knee operation.

Personal life

Bunton has been linked with such stars as actor Nigel Harman,^[14] pop singer Justin Timberlake,^[15] and 911 lead singer Lee Brennan.^[14]

Her boyfriend of ten years is former Damage and current CherryBlackStone lead singer Jade Jones, with whom she currently lives in a house in Hertfordshire. In October, 2006, there were rumours that the couple were engaged, with plans to marry in March 2007.^[16] This rumour was denied several days later.^[17] Bunton has stated multiple times that she does not need a wedding to justify her relationship with Jones.

After being diagnosed with endometriosis,^[18] a condition which can reduce fertility, Bunton and Jones announced in January 2007 that they were expecting their first child together.^[19][20] On 10 August 2007, Bunton gave birth to a 7-lb. 15-oz. baby boy named Beau Lee Jones.^[21]

Emma Bunton has a blue belt in Karate.^[2]

Discography

References

External links

• Emma Bunton at the Internet Movie Database
• Emma Official website