Myleene Klass | |
|---|---|
 Klass at theGreatest Britons Awards of 2007 | |
| Born | Myleene Angela Klass (1978-04-06)6 April 1978 (age 46)[1] Great Yarmouth, England |
| Education |
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| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Simon Motson |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | EMI Classics |
| Website | www |
Musical artist | |
Myleene Angela Klass MBE (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop groupHear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass has been a television and radio presenter. She has hosted television series includingPopstar to Operastar (2010–2011) andBBQ Champ (2015) onITV andThe One Show (2007) onBBC One. She was a regular panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat showLoose Women in 2014 and again from 2024 onwards. In 2006, Klass was runner-up on thesixth series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and returned in 2023 for the "all-stars" seriesI'm a Celebrity... South Africa, which she won.
Klass was born inGreat Yarmouth,Norfolk, to anAustrian father and aFilipino mother.[2] She attendedNotre Dame High School, Norwich, but transferred to the closerCliff Park Ormiston Academy in theGorleston-on-Sea area of Great Yarmouth, to complete her secondary education.[3] Klass learned to play violin and piano as a child, and at the age of 15 she went to weekend studies at the Junior Department of theGuildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied voice and harp. She gained A grades atA-Level, including music.[4] She subsequently took a course at theRoyal Academy of Music,University of London.[3] At the age of 11, she won a school engineering contest, with a prize presented byCarol Vorderman.[5]
After graduating, Klass spent a short period as part of a reality show forBravo, calledThe Dolls' House.[6] She sang backing vocals forSir Cliff Richard, with whom she had previously worked at age 10 when she sang in a choir featured in his 1988 single "Mistletoe and Wine", which was that year'sChristmas number one on theUK Singles Chart,[7] and made her West End theatre debut inMiss Saigon.[2]
Early television work came in 1998, when Klass sang soprano for the music of theChannel 4 filmAlice through the Looking Glass.[8]
In 2001, Klass auditioned for the ITV reality showPopstars, which offered contestants an opportunity to become part of a newly formed pop band. Klass was chosen as one of the ten finalists and became a member ofHear'Say, withKym Marsh,Suzanne Shaw,Danny Foster andNoel Sullivan. Following the success of their first album, the band was given its own TV show entitledHear'Say It's Saturday. During the show's run, the band had a chance to perform with such established artists asLionel Richie,Celine Dion,Bradley Walsh,Blue andAtomic Kitten. At the end of 2001, Hear'Say appeared on theRoyal Variety Performance.
Subsequently, the group achieved a 37-date sold-out arena tour and performed numerous television guest appearances. Klass made many appearances with Hear'Say on TV and in live performances during 2002.[9] The pop act's many promotional appearances during the year were also broadcast as part of their own TV shows, entitledHear'Say: A New Chapter in Full andThe Hear'Say Story. In total, Hear'Say had four Top 10 singles including two number-ones in the British charts, before splitting up after a reported long-term feud between Klass and Marsh. The feud resulted in Marsh leaving the band in December 2001, to be replaced byJohnny Shentall in 2002. The band split up in October of that year.[10]
On 13 May 2003, Klass signed a five-album deal withClassics and Jazz.[11] Promotion started with the release of the main promotional single "Toccata and Fugue" to TV channels. She also appeared in the video for "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" withThe Girls of FHM, which went to No. 10 in theUK Singles Chart.[12]
Klass's album,Moving On, was launched on 20 October 2003 atHarrods,London.[11] The album included reworked versions of popular classical pieces such asFauré'sPavane,Beethoven'sMoonlight Sonata andSatie'sGymnopedie No.2.Moving On also included music from the Oscar-winning filmsGladiator andThe Piano.[13] New arrangements for piano of more contemporary works were also included on the album, namelyLinkin Park's "Crawling" andDaniel Bedingfield's "If You're Not the One". In its first week of release.Moving On peaked at No. 2 in theUK Classical Chart, behindHayley Westenra. It peaked at No. 32 in theUK Albums Chart.[14] By mid-December 2003, the album had beencertified gold.[15] In April 2004,Moving On was nominated as "Album of the Year" at theClassical BRIT Awards, but lost toBryn Terfel's platinum-selling recordBryn.[16][17]
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Klass confirmed there would be a re-release of the album with five new tracks, but its release was pushed back. Ultimately, the release was cancelled, the only remnant being the Asian release ofMoving On, which includes three new tracks: "Trouble" (aColdplay cover version with Klass's vocals), "Sahara" and "Le Onde".[18]
On 28 March 2007, Klass signed a record contract with EMI Classics as both a recording artist and an ambassador for the EMI Classics UK roster of artists.[19] These includeAlfie Boe,Natasha Marsh andNatalie Clein. The deal included the release of a series of albums on which Klass performed two exclusive tracks and chose a number of her favourite classical pieces from the EMI Classics back catalogue.
Klass's second album in the EMI series,Myleene's Music for Mothers, was released on 18 February 2008, and has two tracks played by Klass.[20] These two tracks are the popular "America" fromWest Side Story, written byLeonard Bernstein, andEnnio Morricone's "Chi Mai", known best as the theme to the 1981 BBC TV drama serialThe Life and Times of Lloyd George. In March 2013, she helped to celebrateAndrew Lloyd Webber's 40-year work with her rendition of "Shakalaka- Baby" from the musicalBombay Dreams.[21]
In August 2005, Klass was signed as a presenter for the ITV music showCD:UK withLauren Laverne and Johny P,[22] with her first appearance shown on 17 September 2005. In 2005, Klass appeared as a guest panellist on the topical discussion showThe Wright Stuff on a number of occasions.[23] At Christmas 2005, Klass appeared on a celebrity version of theBBC'squiz showMastermind.[24]
On 6 August 2006, Klass was a guest reporter on BBC One's Sunday morning religion and ethics showHeaven & Earth, withGloria Hunniford.[25] Klass's report, billed as the feature of the week, was on the Pope'sastronomer.[26] From 10 October 2006, Klass co-presentedLiving'sGhost Towns with the medium and ex-Most Haunted starDerek Acorah.[27] In May 2007, Klass appeared onSky HD'stest card.
From July to August 2007, Klass co-presented the daily BBC One programmeThe One Show withAdrian Chiles, before leaving to concentrate on looking after her baby.[28] On 31 December 2007, Klass presented the BBC One programmeNew Year Live for the countdown to the year 2008 at midnight.[29]
Klass was announced as the new presenter of the Channel 4 series10 Years Younger, replacingNicky Hambleton-Jones, on 5 November 2008,[30] and first hosted on 5 February the following year. She also co-hosted theAmerican version ofI'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! in 2009 onNBC.[31]
On 31 July 2015, Klass began presenting the new ITV seriesBBQ Champ.[32]
Klass took part in thesixth series of ITV's reality television seriesI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, which began on 13 November 2006 and ended on 1 December 2006. After only one week onI'm a Celebrity..., Klass became the most searched for celebrity from the show on the Internet search engineMSN/Live Search[33] and the third most searched for celebrity in the UK.[34] She finished in second place, behindMatt Willis.
Klass's brother Don, noticing his sister's popularity with the male audience, suggested she auction off herbikinis from the show oneBay.[35] Within a week of leaving the jungle, Klass took his advice and put her white bikini from the show on auction on eBay until 7 December 2006. Klass pledged that all the money raised from the auction would go tocharity to help victims of theFarepak savings scandal. The auction raised £7,500.[36] Klass's newly foundsex symbol status was cemented further afterPlayboy offered her a six-figure deal to posenude for the magazine. The offer was sent to Klass's agent while she was still on the show, with many offers from other magazines, chat shows and TV work. The demand for Klass increased so much that it is estimated she received offers amounting to several million pounds.[37] Returning to the UK, Klass did several TV and press interviews about her time on the show. Commenting on her famous showers, she said she never expected it to be such a focus of attention and that the reason for her frequent cold showers was to help cope with hersexual frustration, saying, "Forget snakes and spiders – going without sex was the hardest thing." She revealed that so great was her frustration and sexual urges after nearly three weeks without sex, that on her release from the jungle, she spent the first hours having unprotected sex with her boyfriend which resulted in her pregnancy with her first child.[38] She also tried to end the widespread debate about whether or not herbreasts are real, saying, "They're absolutely real and natural, I can assure you."[39] About her new offers, she said she had been approached by several companies about doing bikini ranges with them.
On 20 September 2020, it was announced that Klass would be a contestant on thethirteenth series ofDancing on Ice. She was paired withŁukasz Różycki. She became the first celebrity to be eliminated following a skate-off againstLady Leshurr andBrendyn Hatfield.[40]
On 26 March 2023, it was announced that she would appear inI'm a Celebrity... South Africa.[41] During the final episode aired on 12 May, Klass beat runner-upJordan Banjo and was crowned the first "I'm a Celebrity Legend".[42]
On 13 October 2023, Klass appeared as a guest panellist on the ITV talk showLoose Women before returning once again as a regular panellist from 19 January 2024.
In November 2014, Klass caused controversy by engaging in a heated debate with then-leader of the Labour PartyEd Miliband on the ITV showThe Agenda. Discussing his proposals for a so-called "mansion tax" on larger homes, Klass expressed the view that this would hit "little grannies".[43] In the course of discussion, she pointed to a glass of water, saying, "You can't just point at things and tax them." The row later featured in an attack on Miliband by the prime ministerDavid Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions.[44]
In February 2006, Klass began presenting theSunday Breakfast programme onClassic FM, taking over fromAled Jones (who returned to this slot in 2016). She worked for several years on the station's early morning show on Saturdays and Sundays and since 2006 presents the Saturday and Sunday eveningSmooth Classics programme (10 pm – 1 am).[45] While working on the weekend morning show for Classic FM, she was also heard on London'sCapital Radio on Sunday evenings from 8 to 10 pm. This show was also broadcast onGCap Media'sOne Network local commercial radio stations around the UK.
On 27 May 2008, Klass presented theBBC Radio 2 showFriday Night is Music Night in front of a live audience at the Watford Colosseum inWatford, Hertfordshire. The recording of this show was broadcast on 18 July 2008. Klass presented various shows onTalkRADIO, filling in forJames Whale andJon Gaunt.
Klass began presenting a Saturday drive-time show onSmooth Radio in 2014.[46] Klass presented the weekday 10 am – 1 pm show covering forKate Garraway while she was looking after her husband who hadCoronavirus. Garraway returned to the mid-morning show on 14 September and Klass returned to her usual Saturday drive-time show.
She appeared in a shoot forMaxim magazine in February 2006.[47] Klass was chosen as the new face of Ortak Jewellery.[48] In January 2007, it was announced that Klass had signed a multimillion-pound deal withMarks & Spencer to model clothes and swimwear for the new season.[49] From 2012, Klass modelled for the catalogue store Littlewoods.[50]
In early 2006, Klass was cast as one of the three women starring in the long-running playThe Vagina Monologues and performed inBromley,Richmond andBrighton. Her run was then extended to include all dates inNottingham.[51] Olympic champions joined Klass on 13 December 2006 to launchLucky Dog, a new London 2012 National Lottery scratchcard. In 2008, Klass began designing a range of baby clothes forMothercare called Baby K.[52] Klass also writes a regular blog for the pregnancy and parenting websiteGurgle, which is owned by Mothercare.[53] Klass is the official godmother of the cruise shipCarnival Splendor. Klass is anEDF Energy / Team Green Britain Ambassador and took part in the launch of the EDFLondon Eye on 27 January 2011.[54] In 2011, Klass began working with the children's shoe brandStart-rite, helping the company to design and promote a range of fitted footwear.[55]
Klass has been an amateur astronomer for most of her life,[56] having been taught the basics by her father. She was one of a handful of celebrities, engineers and scientists who were at the UKNational Space Centre control centre for the touchdown of the UK Mars probeBeagle 2 in the early morning of Christmas Day 2003. Since then, she has been a keen supporter of the UK's work in theEuropean space programme.[57] In March 2006, Klass publicly criticised the proposed closure of theLondon Planetarium and explained on television how to viewVenus in the early morning. She also appeared on Channel 4'sRichard & Judy to discuss the bookMoondust, which follows the lives of the first men on the moon, and in 2007 attended the televised party on BBC One, held at the home ofPatrick Moore inSelsey to mark the 50th anniversary of Moore's monthly programme,The Sky at Night. Klass once studiedastronomy with theOpen University.[58]
In December 2005, Klass was attacked by a group of teenagers in anewsagent inBermondsey. She had a bag ofchips dropped on her head and was pushed to the ground. The teenagers attempted to take photos of Klass on their mobile phones.[59]
In May 2006, Klass was involved in ago-karting crash at a charity race inCardiff,South Wales, sustaining an injury to her leg.[60]
On 1 April 2007, she announced she was expecting her first child on 7 September.[61] As a result, she delayed her wedding to Graham Quinn until 2008.[62] Their daughter Ava was born on 16 August 2007.[63] Klass's spokesman said, "Myleene presentedThe One Show and felt a bit weird on the way home. She went to the hospital to get checked out and they told her she was in labour."[64] Klass published a book about her experiences of being pregnant, entitledMy Bump and Me: From Morning Sickness to Motherhood – An Honest Diary of My Pregnancy. She gave birth to a second daughter on 25 March 2011, called Hero.[65]
In May 2009, Klass had an accumulated wealth of £7.5 million.[66]
In January 2010, Klass claimed she received a warning fromHertfordshire Police for brandishing akitchen knife (through a window) at a group of teenagers who entered her garden while she and her daughter were alone in the house. She said that she was "utterly terrified" and "aghast" at the response by the police.[67] Hertfordshire Police denied making any such warning and stated that the law allows householders the proportionate use of force to protect themselves. It has subsequently been reported that it was Klass's agent or publicist who notified the police of the incident and who then passed on the story toThe Sun.[68]
On 21 October 2011, Klass and Quinn married, with sixteen people in attendance.[69] On 23 April 2013, she was granted a divorce from Quinn.[70]
On 1 August 2019, she gave birth to her third child, a boy named Apollo. This was Klass's first child with her partner Simon Motson, who also has two children from a previous relationship.[71] On 13 September 2020, Klass announced that she had become engaged to Motson.[72]
As part ofWorld Vision's 24-hour famine appeal, Klass visited Sierra Leone to see how World Vision was working to help villagers build up their lives.[73] She has also been the face of various charity campaigns such as stop text bully andChildLine, and helped aid the Niger famine appeal by manning the telephone lines.
At theCathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich on 24 June 2005, Klass performed a selection of tracks from herMoving On album, as well as accompanying some local schoolchildren in a concert of classical standards. The cathedral summer concert was organised to raise funds for an extension of the church building. Part of this performance was recorded byMTV, which was following Klass at the time for a show calledThe Price of Fame. The programme was later broadcast byVH1 and also by ITV, where it was only shown in the London region. The recording by the music channel was acknowledged by Klass during the evening.
On 15 July 2006, as part of BBC One'sSport Relief charity spectacular, Klass appeared as a special guest in theQuestion of Sport Relief segment. Klass's appearance involved her playing a variety of TV sport theme tunes on a grand piano. This part of the fundraiser was based on the BBC's popularA Question of Sport quiz show and was hosted bySue Barker. Guest panellists on the show includedNancy Dell'Olio andZara Phillips, who played alongside the regular team captainsAlly McCoist andMatt Dawson.
During December 2006, Klass also appeared onThe Big Finish withGraham Norton, in which she competed alongsideBill Oddie andBig Brother starNikki Grahame for the "Showbiz" team (against "Soap", "Sport", "News" and "Judges" teams) to compete to win £10,000 for the winning team's chosen charities. The Showbiz team, represented by Graham in the final round, was beaten by the Soap team represented by the formerEastEnders actressWendy Richard. In November 2007, Klass guest-presentedBBC Children in Need and performedYour Song withJohn Barrowman. She also collaborates with Norwood, a Jewish charity for children.
In July 2022, Klass received an honorary degree from theUniversity of East Anglia.[74]
In 2023, she backed changes to the Women's Health Strategy for women who have experienced miscarriage with MPOlivia Blake.[75]
Klass is an ambassador for the National Foundation for Youth Music, a children's music charity.[76]
Klass was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2025 New Year Honours for her work on women's health, in particular in raising awareness ofmiscarriage.[77][78]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2006 | CD:UK | Co-presenter | |
| 2006 | The All Star Talent Show | ||
| I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Contestant | Finished 2nd place | |
| 2006–2007, 2009 | New Year Live | Presenter | 3 occasions |
| 2006–2013 | The National Lottery Draws | In-rotation with other presenters | |
| 2007 | The One Show | Co-presenter | WithAdrian Chiles |
| 2008 | Last Choir Standing | ||
| Tom Jones: One Night Only | Presenter | One-off episode | |
| Teaching Awards | Co-presenter | WithJeremy Vine | |
| 2008–2013, 2018 | Classic Brit Awards | Presenter (2008–2013) Co-presenter (2018) | 7[79] occasions |
| 2009 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! USA | Co-presenter | Series 2 |
| 2010 | GMTV with Lorraine | Guest presenter | 4 episodes |
| 2010–2011 | Popstar to Operastar | Presenter | 2 series; withAlan Titchmarsh(Series 1) |
| Escape from Scorpion Island | Co-presenter | Series 4 andseries 5 | |
| 2010, 2012 | Lorraine | Guest presenter | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | The National Lottery Awards | Presenter | One-off episode |
| 2012 | Celebrity Antiques Road Trip | Contestant (Episode 2.19) | |
| 2013 | The Great Christmas Toy Giveaway | Co-presenter | |
| 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | Countdown | Guest | 21 episodes |
| 2014, 2023, 2024–present | Loose Women | Regular panellist (2014, 2024–present), Guest panellist (2023) | 36 episodes |
| 2015 | BBQ Champ | Presenter | 1 series |
| Blitz Cities | 1 episode | ||
| 2016 | Myleene Klass: Single Mums on Benefits | One-off episode | |
| Matron, Medicine and Me: 70 Years of the NHS | 1 episode | ||
| 2018 - 2020 | Global Awards | Co-presenter | Music awards ceremony |
| 2021 | Dancing on Ice | Contestant | Series 13 |
| Myleene Klass: Miscarriage & Me | Presenter | Documentary[80] | |
| 2023 | I'm a Celebrity... South Africa | Contestant | Winner |
| Musical Masterpieces | Co-presenter | AlongsideErrollyn Wallen[81] |
 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Myleene Klass" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [84] | UK Classical | |||
| Movin On |
| 32 | 2 |
|
| Myleene's Music For Romance |
| - | 1 | |
| My Lullabies: Mowtown |
| - | - | |
| Year | Category | Nominated for | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cosmopolitan Ultimate Woman Awards | Ultimate Comeback Queen | Won | [86] |
| 2008 | Ultimate TV Presenter | Won | [87] | |
| 2013 | Glamour Awards | Entrepreneur of the Year | Won | [88] |
| 2015 | National Reality TV Awards | Best Reality TV Judge | Nominated | [89] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
