Geri Halliwell

At 51 years old, Geri Halliwell has this physical status:

Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell) (born 6 August 1972), is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress.

Halliwell came to international prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the wildly successful girl group the Spice Girls, which was also the best-selling girl group of all time, with over 85 million records sold, of which 75 million copies were sold with the quintet lineup including Halliwell.

In 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls to pursue a solo career but later returned to the group when they reunited in 2007.

Halliwell reportedly amassed a $40 million fortune during her last two years in the group.In 1999, Halliwell launched her solo career and released her debut album, Schizophonic, which spawned three number ones at the UK Singles Chart: "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", and "Bag It Up", while the lead single, "Look at Me", peaked at number two.

In 2001, Halliwell released her second album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster; the first single, "It's Raining Men", was also used on the Bridget Jones's Diary film soundtrack, peaked at number one in the UK and went on to become the biggest hit of her career.

The singles that followed, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster and Calling, reached number eight and number seven in the United Kingdom, respectively.

She released her third studio album Passion in 2005, including the worldwide hit "Ride It", which was commercially successful in the rest of Europe.

It peaked at number two in Russia, number four in the UK, while reaching number three on the Belgium, Spain and the Scottish charts.After a few years of relative obscurity, in April 2010, Halliwell announced that she had started working on new music.

In April 2013, the Nine Network announced that she would become the fourth judge on Australia's Got Talent.

On 12 September 2013, it was announced that Halliwell would return to the music industry in Australia with the release of her first solo single in nearly eight years, "Half of Me".

In 2017, she released a successful charity single, "Angels in Chains", in tribute to George Michael and for helping the association Childline.Since 1996, Halliwell has sold more than 90 million records, of which 15 million were as a solo artist (5 million albums and 10 million singles), and a further 75 million during her tenure with the Spice Girls.

Early life

Geraldine Estelle Halliwell was born on 6 August 1972 at Watford General Hospital in Watford, Hertfordshire, the daughter of Ana María (née Hidalgo) and Laurence Francis Halliwell (1922–1993). Her mother is Spanish, hailing from Huesca, while her father was of Swedish, English and a "bit of French" descent. Halliwell's paternal grandfather was Swedish, though born in Korsnäs, Finland. Halliwell grew up on a council estate in North Watford. She was educated at Watford Grammar School for Girls and Camden School for Girls. Before starting her music career, Halliwell had worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca, a presenter on the Turkish version of Let's Make a Deal, and a glamour model. At the age of 19, she appeared as a Page 3 girl in The Sun. Following her rise to fame, nude photos of Halliwell were republished in a number of magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse in 1998.

Personal life

Halliwell gave birth to a daughter, Bluebell Madonna, in May 2006. The child's father is screenwriter Sacha Gervasi with whom Halliwell was in a relationship in 2005; Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton are godmothers. Halliwell began dating Christian Horner, the team principal of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, in February 2014. They announced their engagement on 11 November 2014 and the couple were married on 15 May 2015 at St Mary's Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire.

In October 2016, Halliwell said that Horner and she were expecting their first child together. Halliwell gave birth to her second child, a son, named Montague George Hector Horner, paying tribute to late friend George Michael, on 21 January 2017. Halliwell is stepmother to Horner's daughter, Olivia, from his previous relationship.

Halliwell’s first dog Harry, came from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. She later adopted Daisy, who survived life-saving liver surgery aged just six months old, as seen on Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs.

Halliwell has spoken out about her experiences of bulimia, saying that she came close to death, weighing just 7 stone (98 lb; 44 kg), and was advised by Robbie Williams to seek medical help. In 2011, she spoke of being comfortable with her body and credits her newly healthy relationship with food to motherhood.

In 2019, Spice Girl Mel B confirmed rumours that she and Halliwell had sex during the height of the Spice Girls' fame. She said: "It just happened, and we just giggled at it and that was it."

Halliwell became a Christian after she previously self-identified as an agnostic.

Halliwell's brother, Max, died on 17 November, 2021, at age 54.

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Musical career

Halliwell and Melanie C. Mel B. Mel B. and Victoria Beckham responded to an advertisement in The Stage magazine in 1994. Around 400 people applied for the advertisement and auditioned at Dance Works studios. Halliwell, Melanie C. Mel B and Beckham, as well as Emma Bunton, became the group's members following a few initial line-up changes. The group became anxious about a lack of a job and became dissatisfied with the company's course, and in October 1994, armoured with a database of demos and dance routines, they began touring management firms. They persuaded Bob Herbert to host a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers, and repertoire men in December 1994 at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, where they received a "overwhelmingly positive" response. Due to the firm's high success, the Herberts rushed to inkring a binding contract for the company. The five members delayed signing contracts after being encouraged by the reception they had received at the Nomis show, including Adams' father Anthony Adams. Heart Management left them in March 1995 after the company's inability to pay attention to their visions and recommendations.

The company began a friendship with 19 Entertainment's Simon Fuller, and in March 1995, they signed him. The group toured record labels in London and Los Angeles with Fuller during the summer of 1995 and then signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995. The band continued to write and record tracks for their debut album from this point to summer 1996, where they had signed a publishing contract with Windswept Pacific. The Spice Girls debuted "Wannabe," their debut single in the United Kingdom on June 7th. On the weeks leading up to the premiere, the film "Wannabe" got a trial airing on The Box music channel. The album became the most popular single by an all-female group of all time, peaking at number one in 37 countries. Each member of the group received a nickname from Top of the Pops magazine shortly after the debut of "Wannabe" in "Wannabe." Halliwell was dubbed "Ginger Spice" because of her "liveliness, vivacious, and flaming red hair. "Wannabe" was followed by nine more number-one singles from their albums Spice, Spiceworld, and Forever. "You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1" from Spice, as well as "Spice Up Your Life," "Too Much" and "Viva Forever" from Spice followed.

Halliwell revealed that she had left the Spice Girls due to anxiety and inconsistencies among the group on May 31, 1998. Her conduct sparked controversy, with her former company about to embark on a North American tour that was ultimately concluded without her. Despite having left the group, the Spice Girls released "Viva Forever," the band's final music video to feature Halliwell's appearance, as well as a one-off supergroup called England United for the official England FC song (Jo Althoughy revealed the band's slogan "more Geri as a substitute"). The other girls co-wrote a few songs about her after she left: "Goodbye," "Tell Me Why," and "Let Love Leads the Way" on their album Forever. The company is one of the most popular girl bands of all time, having sold over 75 million albums.

Despite being regularly uttered by all five Spice Girls, the word "girl power" was most closely associated with Halliwell and was often accompanied by a V symbol. Halliwell referred to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a source of their girl power ideology in a December 1996 interview with The Spectator magazine. "For me, if you look it up," she said in a 2019 interview with Harper's Bazaar, it means equality between the sexes. It means something to everyone, whether you're a man, woman, or somewhere in between. Forget the labels; it's about accepting everyone's individuality and giving them the opportunity and gender equality and pushing forward."

In the BBC comedy series Rock Profile, Halliwell's connection with girl power (and her friendship with George Michael) was spoofed. Halliwell (played by comedian Matt Lucas) is depicted as a patronising moron who stalks and has delusions of marrying Michael. All is "Girl Power," Halliwell says.

Halliwell unveiled her debut album "Look at Me" in 1999, just one year after leaving the company, and she and her partner Simon Bingham released her debut album Schizophonic, produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall. "Look at Me" was followed by a number one on the UK Singles Chart, "Mi Chico Latino," "Look Me Up," and "Bag It Up" were followed by "Bag It Up." The album itself debuted at number four in the United Kingdom, selling 600,000 copies, making it double platinum. Halliwell was nominated at the BRIT Awards in 2000 for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best Pop Act, and she also performed "Bag It Up" during the show, emerging between massive inflatable legs, pulling off her jacket, and walking in stiletto heels over the backs of topless pink-haired guys when performing the dance. Schizophonic debuted on the Billboard 200 before falling out within a month. The album was eventually certified gold, and it was released in over 500,000 copies. Around three million copies of the album were sold around the world.

Halliwell's second album, Scream If You Want A Faster, debuted in 2001 and was certified gold. It included her cover version of the Weather Girls' 1983 hit, "It's Raining Men," which was also used on the Bridget Jones' Diary film soundtrack and the DDRMAX2 Dance Revolution 7thMix. The song was released as the album's lead single. "Its Raining Men" became a big hit around the world, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom and peaked in the top ten in over 27 countries, becoming Halliwell's biggest hit to date. At the 2002 NRJ Music Awards, the song received the International Song of the Year award. "Scream If You Want A Go Faster" and "Calling" followed, and the singles that followed reached number eight and number seven in the United Kingdom, respectively. "Au Nom de L'amour" is Halliwell's special French version of "Calling." Halliwell was once more nominated at the British Academy of Music and Best British Single for "It's Raining Men" in 2002. Scream If You Want A Million copies Around the world, Scream If You Want a Million copies.

With the single "Ride It," which debuted at number four in the United Kingdom and number one on the dance charts, Halliwell made a return to music in late 2004. Nevertheless, several months went by before another single was released, during which she was apparently encouraged to record some new songs for the as yet unreleased album by her record label, which was dissatisfied with the setlist. Halliwell planned her first solo tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland, but the tour was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales, exacerbated by the label's pressure on Halliwell to record additional songs. "Desire," the first single released in the UK Singles Chart and number one on the UK Dance Charts, was eventually released. The source album, Passion, received no attention from the public or critics right after, and it stalled at number 41 in the British charts. Halliwell's recording deal with EMI was subsequently not renewed, and she said she was not keen on recording another album at the time and was content with writing children's books and motherhood.

The Spice Girls regrouped and revealed plans for a reunion tour on June 29, 2007, from which they were expected to have earned £10 million (roughly US$20 million). According to the group's members, they were still enjoying "doing their own thing." The group decided to tour as a quintet and debut their first compilation album, a compilation of their Greatest Hits, on display at the museum. This album was released in early November 2007, and the tour started on October 2nd, 2007. During the rebirth, film maker Bob Smeaton produced an official film of the tour titled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything. The Spice Girls were contracted to appear in Tesco advertisements, for which they were paid £1 million each, in addition to their sell-out tour. On ITV1's The Alan Titchmarsh Show in March 2010, vocal coach and singer Carrie Grant announced that Halliwell would be returning to music for the first time. Halliwell wrote a letter on her website announcing that she was back in the studio and citing Lady Gaga as one of her influences. Halliwell is expected to return to music in May 2011. Halliwell revealed on July 31 that she had been working on her fourth album, adding, "The album's pretty much done."

Halliwell revealed in February 2012 that the fourth album would be mastered. She reunited with the Spice Girls in August 2012 to appear as a quintet at the Olympic Games in London's closing ceremony. Victoria Beckham appeared in the final Spice Girls concert. In addition, the group collaborated with Jennifer Saunders and Judy Craymer to produce Viva Forever, a musical based on the Spice Girls' songs Viva Forever! Halliwell performed in October 2012 for the first time in seven years at Breast Cancer Care, debuting a new track titled "Phenomenal Woman." Halliwell confessed in January 2013 that she had decided to abandon writing and recording in favour of a new style direction.

Halliwell's first solo performance in nearly eight years would be featured at its grand final show on September 5, 2013 by Channel 9's NRL Footy Show (one of Australia's longest running programs). The performance took place on October 3, 2013, just one year after her last exhibition at the Breast Cancer Care Show featured new information. As part of a new deal with Sony Music Australia, it was revealed on September 12, 2013. The single was released on October 25, 2013 and reached number 281 in the Australian charts, despite being ranked 281. Halliwell then took to her personal blog to discuss her upsetting return to work as a musician and speculated about possibly retiring for good. She performed an acoustic interpretation of the Spice Girls' hit song "Wannabe" in the grand finals of Australia's Got Talent.

Halliwell is currently working on new material for her fourth studio album, which has yet to be announced after numerous delays. As of September 2015, three tracks had been confirmed: "Love and Light," "Phenomenal Women," and "Sheriff."

Halliwell, Mel B and Bunton produced a video announcing the 20th anniversary of Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece; Beckham and Melanie C said that the threesome had been given permission to continue working on the project in July 2016. However, the project was cancelled following Halliwell's declaration of her pregnancy.

The revealing tracks "Love and Light," "Phenomenal Women," and "Sheriff" were among 13 songs from Halliwell's fourth album, including "Man on the Mountain." Halliwell also launched "Angels in Chains," a nod to George Michael's memory, in June, to raise money for Childline.

The Spice Girls announced their reunion Spice World – 2019 Tour on November 5, 2018, Beckham said she was unable to attend due to commitments regarding her fashion. In May 2019 and ending in June 2019.

Halliwell launched Rainbow Woman, an original YouTube video series that she wrote, produced, and served as an executive producer in November 2020. Halliwell appears in a series of vignettes that follow her on various adventures. She appeared in the short animated film The Crown with a Shadow, directed by J.B. Ghuman Jr., in August 2021.

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