|
Kelly Brook (born Kelly Ann Parsons
in Rochester, Kent, England, on 23 November 1979(1979-11-23)) is an
English model, actress, occasional swimwear designer and television
presenter.
She is the daughter of Sandra, a cook, and Ken, a scaffolder. Ken Parsons
died from cancer on 26 November 2007, during Brook's time on Strictly Come
Dancing.
Kelly attended The Thomas Aveling School in Warren Wood, Rochester, Kent.
She then studied at the Italia Conti stage school in London for three
years before becoming a professional model.
Brook's modelling career began at 16 after winning a beauty competition
that her mother entered her in. Following this success she worked on a
range of advertising campaigns, including for Foster's Lager, Renault
Megane, Walkers crisps, Piz Buin and Bravissimo, a company that
specialises in bras and lingerie for large-breasted women. Her voluptuous
figure eventually caught the eye of the editorial team of the Daily Star
tabloid, which began featuring her as a Page Three girl.
Brook's picture soon began appearing in other lad mags such as GQ, Loaded
and FHM. In April of the same year a poll over 5,000 women for Grazia
magazine considered her to have the best British female body. She also
topped the 'FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World' list in 2005, which was
said to have polled 15 million people. She later ranked 5th in FHM's '100
Sexiest Women in the World 2006', 17th in 2007 and 34th in 2008.
Brook has also done a large amount of commercial swimwear, sportswear and
hosiery modeling. Her work for Triumph bras caused quite a stir because of
specially commissioned 50-foot (15 m) high billboard of Brook's bust, said
to be the largest billboard in the world.
In 2005, Brook posed for a ten-page, nude black-and-white photo spread for
the photographer David Bailey, which appeared in the British design
magazine Arena, in the November 2005 issue.
In 2006 she signed a contract, reported to be worth around £1m, to present
Unilever's Lynx body spray, known as Axe in the US and in continental
Europe. She has appeared on billboards, in newspapers, and on-line as part
of an advertising campaign.
She has also appeared in commercials for Sky + & T Mobile and most
recently, modelled for Reebok.
In 1997, she appeared in a Pulp video Help the Aged with Huck Whitney of
the cult band The Flaming Stars, in a slow dance sequence.
Brook made her full screen debut with a minor role in the film Sorted,
where she can be seen involved in a lesbian scene. Shortly thereafter she
also appeared in the film Ripper. She played the girlfriend of Clark
Kent/Superman's best friend Lex Luthor in four episodes of Warner Bros.'
Smallville during the show's first season (2001 - 2002). She has also
completed assignments as a movie actress in Canada and made a short
appearance as Lyle's girlfriend in the 2003 movie The Italian Job.
Her first starring role was in School for Seduction, a 2004 film - she
received positive reviews for her role, "Seduction offers a few twists on
the rapidly degenerating format, not the least of which is the comely
Brook in the lead role." In 2004 she also played character Nikki Morris in
the video game Need for Speed Underground 2, alongside Brooke Burke. In
2005 she appeared in the Philippe Vidal film House of 9, a thriller about
nine seemingly unconnected strangers captured and locked in a house
together. The people are forced to compete against one another, in order
to survive.
She caused a minor controversy in 2006 opposite Juan Pablo Di Pace whilst
in the film Survival Island (also known as Three), also co-starring Billy
Zane, who would later become her fiancé. Brook requested her nude scenes
with Di Pace be excised from the final cut, which the producers refused to
do.
In 2006, she also starred in a Marple drama on ITV and appeared as herself
throughout the second series of Moving Wallpaper for ITV1, in 2009. She
stars also in the Science-Fiction thriller Shadow Play who is directed by
Nick Simon.
Dated English actor Jason Statham for seven years before splitting in
2004. The couple lived together in Los Angeles and Herne Hill, south
London.
Brook met American actor Billy Zane while filming thriller Survival Island
in Greece in 2004. Brook and Zane were engaged to be married in the summer
of 2008 and acquired a house in Kent, but Brook postponed the wedding upon
the death of her father in November 2007. The couple split in April 2008
and briefly got back together before ending their relationship for good in
August 2008.
Brook has been dating Wasps rugby player Danny Cipriani since September
2008. |
|
"But the thing is - and this
is something that really annoys me - a lot of people mistake
lightness for stupidity. If you're cold and mean and dark, you're
smart. If you're sweet and charming and you get on with people, then
you're not. Then, you're ... bubbly."
"I am a light person. I think of myself with a shield, a protective
shield around me. And I think of bad things bouncing off it. Boom,
boom, boom, ba-boom, ba- boom!"
"I got a lot of, 'This bloody bitch - she only got the job because
of what she looks like.'" -as quoted in the Sept 2002 issue of
Playboy |
