Jodie Louisa Marsh (born 23 December 1978) is an English media personality, model and bodybuilder. She has appeared on numerous reality television shows, including ''
Essex Wives'' (2002),
''Back to Reality'' (2004), ''
Love on a Saturday Night'' (2004), ''
Celebrity Big Brother
''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...
'' (2006, 2012), and ''
Big Brother's Bit on the Side
This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother (British TV series), Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition originally ran from 2000 to 2018, and again since 2023. The celebrity editio ...
'' (2011–2013). She also featured in her own reality show titled ''
Totally Jodie Marsh'' (2007).
Marsh began
glamour modelling in 2002 on
Page 3
Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature in Novembe ...
of ''
The Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'', for which she appeared six times in total.
Her autobiography, ''Keeping It Real'',
reached the top 10 on
''The Sunday Times'' Bestseller List.
[''Keeping it Real''](_blank)
at Amazon.co.uk She is also known for her fitness regime and
natural bodybuilding. Marsh currently operates an animal sanctuary in
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It lies to the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, Essex, Braintree, east of London Stanste ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
.
Early life
Jodie Louisa Marsh was born on 23 December 1978 in
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021.
Brentwood is a t ...
to John Marsh and Kristina Marsh, who owned a
scaffolding business.
She has one brother.
Marsh was educated at the independent
Brentwood School.
She acquired 11A*-A grade
GCSEs
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
at school, followed by three
A-levels
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
.
She has spoken extensively about her experiences of being bullied at school, which began when she was 11. She had
rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty (, nose + , to shape), commonly called nose job, medically called nasal reconstruction, is a plastic surgery procedure for altering and reconstructing the human nose, nose. There are two types of plastic surgery used – plastic sur ...
aged 16 after experiencing bullying for her nose,
which she broke in a
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
accident.
Television career
Marsh was working as a
stripper
A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events.
Modern forms of stripping m ...
at
Stringfellows gentlemen's club in London when she appeared in the documentary television series ''
Essex Wives'' in 2002. This led to a number of modelling jobs. She has subsequently participated in many reality television shows, including ''
Trust Me – I'm a Holiday Rep'', Channel 4's ''
The Games'' and
E4's ''Fool Around... with Jodie Marsh'' on two occasions.
In mid-2008 she had a cameo role in the first episode of
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's Friday night comedy show ''
The Kevin Bishop Show''.
''Celebrity Big Brother''
In January 2006, Marsh appeared on ''
Celebrity Big Brother 4''. Marsh's treatment by other contestants provoked debate about whether Marsh was being bullied.
Australian feminist writer and ex-Big Brother contestant
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and feminist, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Specializing in English and women's literature, she ...
wrote a comment piece for ''The Guardian'' accusing the show's production company Endemol, presenter
Davina McCall
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She has presented various television shows for Channel 4, including ''Streetmate'' (1998–2001, 2016), ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' (2 ...
, and Marsh's fellow housemates, particularly
George Galloway, of bullying.
On 13 January, she was the first to be voted out of the Big Brother house — with 8 out of 10 possible nominations from her fellow housemates, and 42 percent of the public vote.
Post ''Celebrity Big Brother'' TV work
Marsh appeared on several of the spinoff shows including: ''
Big Brother's Little Brother'', ''
Big Brother's Big Mouth'' and ''
Big Brother's EForum''.
In its second UK series, Marsh showed viewers around her home on ''
MTV's Cribs'' in 2008. Also in 2008, Marsh appeared on Channel 4's documentary ''
It's Me or the Dog''. She was given training tips at home to deal with her six dogs – two
bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...
s (Paddy and Lyla) and four
chihuahuas (Bean, Baby, Teddy, and Tommy).
Marsh appeared as a contestant in Channel Five's reality show ''
The All Star Talent Show'', hosted by
Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is an English musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...
and
Andi Peters. Following this, Marsh began presenting her own series, ''Get A Life'' for
Living TV
Sky Witness is a British pay television tv channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts procedural dramas from the United States aimed at the 18–45 age demographic. Sky Ital ...
on 1 March 2007. It was cancelled after two episodes.
On 29 September 2010, Marsh appeared in the one-off documentary ''Jodie Marsh Tattoo Apprentice'' which was screened on the channel DMAX.
On 25 January 2012, Marsh appeared on Channel 5's ''Bullied: My Secret Past''. She spoke of the effect bullying had on her and how it has made her who she is today. She also met other victims of bullying.
In April 2013, Channel 5 broadcast the first of two shows titled ''Jodie Marsh: Bullied''. The show features Marsh venturing to the United States to investigate how American schools tackle bullying.
In March 2015,
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
broadcast ''Jodie Marsh On… Women Who Pay For Sex And Drugs'', about women who pay for the services of
male escorts.
Marsh has regularly appeared as a TV panelist since 2023 for
GB News
GB News is a British free-to-air, editorial, opinion-orientated television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky UK, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus, LG web ...
commentating on the daily headlines.
''Totally Jodie Marsh''
In May 2007, the website Marry Me Jodie Marsh was launched with the teaser "I'm getting married this September... Only problem is that I don't have a man!" Men were invited to submit an application for a series of open auditions for the chance to marry Marsh that September. MTV filmed the search and subsequent wedding.
The reality series documenting Marsh's search to find a husband, entitled ''Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle?'', premiered in July 2007. Marsh eventually chose Matt Peacock, an ex-boyfriend of fellow glamour model
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
.
The couple married on 1 September 2007. A second ceremony at her mother’s home was shown on MTV on 2 September 2007. They decided to separate in December 2007. Marsh later admitted to ''Love It'' magazine in its 8 January 2008 issue that ".. the marriage was for TV. It was never for real" and "I'm not hiding the fact I did the TV show for money. Of course I did".
Modelling career
Following her appearance on ''Essex Wives'', Marsh modelled for ''The Sun''
's
Page 3
Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature in Novembe ...
, which she appeared on six times in total.
In June 2009, Marsh appeared on the cover of ''Zoo Weekly'' for the first time; she also appeared in a number of subsequent issues. She also worked with – and appeared in – magazines such as ''
FHM'', ''
Loaded'', and ''
Nuts''.
In 2023, she stated that she has an
OnlyFans account.
Other work
Bodybuilding
At the end of January 2010, Marsh was featured on LA Muscle TV in an hour long show called ''6 pack in 4 weeks''. Jodie's work on the show resulted in a photo shoot for ''Muscle and Fitness'' magazine. In October 2011, Marsh entered the UK Natural Physique Association Bodybuilding Championships in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, where she was placed 5th overall.
Marsh appeared on ''
Daybreak'' and ''
The Late Late Show'' in October 2011.
Marsh's new physique resulted in photoshoots and interviews with various magazines. ''
OK!
''OK!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly ...
'' magazine featured an "at home" interview on 11 October 2011. ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
'' magazine followed on 12 October 2011.
In 2012, Marsh featured in two TV shows for the DMAX network. The first, ''Jodie Marsh: Bodybuilder'' chronicled Marsh's attempts to compete with only weeks of training. The second show, ''Jodie Marsh: Brawn in the USA'', featured Jodie winning gold in the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation Bodybuilding Championships in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in June 2012.
Marsh owns a nutritional
food supplements firm called JST Nutrition. In 2021, she was named by the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's advertising watchdog, on a list of 122 Instagram influencers who have repeatedly violated ASA regulations.
Writing
In 2005, Marsh published her autobiography ''Keeping It Real''.
The hardback was released in 2005, followed by a paperback version in 2006. The hardback version reached the top 10 on the Amazon best-sellers list.
Marsh was previously ''Zoo Weekly'' magazine's "sexpert", advising men on sex-related issues. Her choice as an
agony aunt angered some established professionals. She defended herself against these claims, stating, "I haven't exactly got a degree in psychology but I just love sex, don't I?"
Animal sanctuary
Marsh is the owner of Fripps Farm, an
animal sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...
in Great Dunmow, Essex.
["Jodie Marsh: OnlyFans helps pay for my Essex animal sanctuary"](_blank)
BBC.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023. The sanctuary is home to more than 400 animals and according to Marsh costs £16,000 a month to manage. Marsh has stated that she uses her OnlyFans account to raise funds for her sanctuary.
Personal life
In December 2006, Marsh announced her engagement to Brentwood DJ David Doyle (II), after dating for 11 days. Eschewing the traditional engagement ring, Marsh instead tattooed Doyle's full name on her hand and the couple appeared together in ''OK!'' magazine announcing their plan to marry in a
fetish ceremony in a
dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
. The relationship ended between late December and mid-January 2007. Marsh claimed Doyle had been unfaithful.
She was married to Matt Peacock between September and December 2007 as a TV stunt. They decided to separate in December 2007.
In 2015, Marsh married personal trainer James Placido. She claimed that she was
celibate
Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied on ...
for 5 years before she met Placido.
The couple got divorced after eight months in April 2016.
Marsh has been a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
since the age of 5 and recently became
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
.
Sexual liaison story
In 2004, Marsh sold a story to the ''
News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...
'' that she had had a sexual liaison as a teenager with
Chelsea F.C. midfielder
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...
who was in the year above her at Brentwood School. Lampard denied it and filed a complaint with the
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Ind ...
.
The complaint was not upheld.
Filmography
Television
As herself
Film
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Jodie
Living people
21st-century British autobiographers
British animal welfare workers
English female adult models
English female bodybuilders
English television personalities
English autobiographers
British glamour models
Keepers of animal sanctuaries
People educated at Brentwood School, Essex
Page 3 girls
People from Brentwood, Essex
English women autobiographers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Models from Essex