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Kerry Katona | |
|---|---|
 Katona in 2008 | |
| Born | (1980-09-06)6 September 1980 (age 45) Warrington,Cheshire, England |
| Occupations | Television personality, singer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Musical career | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Formerly of | Atomic Kitten |
Musical artist | |
| Website | www |
Kerry Katona (born 6 September 1980) is an English television personality and former singer. She was an original member of thepop girl groupAtomic Kitten between 1998 and 2001, leaving as the group's success peaked. Katona has appeared on various reality television shows, includingI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here (2004),Celebrity Big Brother (2011),Dancing on Ice (2011), andCelebs on the Farm (2021), as well as her own documentary series about her life onMTV UK.[1]
Katona was born on 6 September 1980 inWarrington, Cheshire.[2][better source needed] Katona's maternal grandfather is aHungarian who fledBudapest to London during theSecond World War.[3] As a child she was placed in care and brought up by four sets of foster parents and attended eight different schools.[4] She left school aged 16 and became alap dancer, touring Europe.[5] She posed topless forPage 3 inThe Sun at the age of 17 and posed for themen's publicationZoo.[6][7] She also worked as a glamour model, appearing in publications likeNew!,[8][9]Now,[10] andStar.[11]
In 1998, Katona auditioned for a new girl group created byOMD frontmanAndy McCluskey and was chosen, along withLiz McClarnon andHeidi Range – replaced byNatasha Hamilton in 1999. The group becameAtomic Kitten and their debut single, "Right Now", was released on 29 November 1999, reaching number 10 in the UK.[12] Following this initial success, the group released three more singles that failed to reach the top 5 and a debut album that peaked at number 29.[12] Atomic Kitten's record label,Innocent Records, was considering dropping them because of their limited success, but were persuaded to allow the group to release "Whole Again" on 29 January 2001.[13] Katona shot the music video, but left the group two days before release because of an unexpected pregnancy and conflicts with the other girls.[14]
She was quickly replaced by formerPrecious singerJenny Frost and their debut album was re-released with the new vocalist.[15] With Frost, "Whole Again" reached number one in 18 other countries,[15] and the group had four number one singles in the UK, two number one albums and estimated sales of 10 million records.[16]
In 2002, Katona presented theITV's dating showElimiDate and appeared onLily Savage's Blankety Blank.[17] In 2004, she won the third series of the British reality TV showI'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.[18] She also appeared as judge on theRTÉ talent showYou're a Star. In 2005 Katona starred her own reality show,My Fair Kerry, onITV.[19] From 2007 to 2010, she starred in five more reality shows onMTV UK about her life, rehab andbipolar disorder:Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love (2007),Kerry Katona: Whole Again (2008),Kerry Katona: What's The Problem? (2009),Kerry Katona: Coming Clean (2010) andKerry Katona: The Next Chapter (2010).[20] In 2009, she also attempted to become a contestant onCelebrity Big Brother 7 but she failed the required psychological tests.[21]
In 2011 she was a contestant onDancing on Ice Series 6 andCelebrity Big Brother 8, finishing in second place.[22]
In 2013, Katona reunited withLiz McClarnon andNatasha Hamilton to reformAtomic Kitten for the reality showThe Big Reunion, along with five other pop groups of their time –911,Honeyz,B*Witched,Five andLiberty X.[23] After the show, they officially reunited and toured for four years.[24][25][26] In 2017, Katona left the group again when she got drunk and hit Hamilton after a performance in Australia.[27] In 2019, Katona appeared in the sixth series ofE4 reality seriesCelebs Go Dating.[28]
In 2021, Katona starred in some more reality shows, includingCelebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins,Fame in the Family,Celeb Cooking School andCelebs on the Farm, which she won.[29][30] In 2022, she became co-host of theWheel of Misfortune podcast alongside comedianAlison Spittle.[31]
From 2002 to 2004, Katona was married to singerBrian McFadden and they had two daughters.[32][33] In 2005, she started dating taxi driver Mark Croft, whom she married on 14 February 2007 and had two children.[34][35] In her autobiography,Still Standing, Katona said she met Croft when he was supplying cocaine to her mother.[36] They divorced in 2011.[37] On 14 September 2014, Katona married formerrugby league player George Kay and had her fifth child.[38][39][40] On 7 October 2015, Katona announced their separation after he allegedly assaulted her at their home inCrowborough and was subsequently arrested by police.[41][42][43] Kay died on 5 July 2019 after an overdose.[44] Despite not living in the United States, Katona endorsedDonald Trump in the2024 US Presidential Election.[45]
Since 2004, Katona has been in rehab many times for cocaine and alcohol abuse, according to her autobiography,Still Standing.[44] In 2009,Iceland Foods andAsda supermarkets broke a long-standing €290,000 advertising campaigns deal with Katona after photographs appeared in the tabloids, allegedly showing her taking cocaine in a bathroom.[46][47] In 2024, Katona publicly discussed undergoing reconstructive surgery to repair anasal septum perforation and collapse caused by years of cocaine use, with cartilage from her rib used to rebuild her nose.[48]
Like her mother Sue, Katona was diagnosed withbipolar disorder in 2005.[49] On 19 July 2007, Katona was admitted to thePriory Hospital with a mental health crisis.[50] Katona also hasdyslexia[51] andattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[52] Katona is a patron of The Shannon Bradshaw Trust, aWarrington-based charity which helps children with life-threatening conditions.[53]
On 15 July 2007, Katona, Croft, and their infant daughter Heidi were held hostage, when three men forcibly entered their home inWilmslow, one of them holding Katona at knife-point while the others forced Croft to show them where valuables were kept.[54] Nobody was physically harmed, but the men left with a blue BMW and other valuables with an estimated total value between £100,000 and £150,000.[55][56] On 21 August 2008, Katona was declared bankrupt at the High Court in London after failing to pay the final £82,000 of a £417,000 tax bill.[57] On 2 July 2013, Katona filed for bankruptcy again at County Court inWigan.[58]
On 8 May 2019, BrightonMagistrates' Court ordered Katona to pay a £500 fine after the school attendance rate of one of her children had fallen below 50% in 2018, but her solicitor argued that Katona did not have childcare and had to take the child to work with her.[59]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | ElimiDate | Presenter | |
| You're a Star | Judge | ||
| 2004 | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Contestant; winner | Series 3 |
| 2005 | My Fair Kerry | Herself | ITV's reality show |
| 2007 | Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love | MTV UK's reality show | |
| 2008 | Kerry Katona: Whole Again | ||
| 2009 | Kerry Katona: What's The Problem? | ||
| 2010 | Kerry Katona: Coming Clean | ||
| Kerry Katona: The Next Chapter | |||
| 2011 | Dancing on Ice | Contestant | Series 6 |
| Celebrity Big Brother | Series 8 | ||
| 2013 | The Big Reunion | Herself | |
| 2019 | Celebs Go Dating | Contestant | Series 6 |
| 2021 | Celebs on the Farm | Series 3 | |
| Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins | Series 3 | ||
| 2022 | Fame in the Family | ||
| Celeb Cooking School | |||
| 2023 | The Big Celebrity Detox | [60] |
| Preceded by | I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! Winner & Queen of The Jungle 2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
