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Kelly Brook (born Kelly Anne Parsons, 23 November 1979) is an English model, actress, and media personality. She began her career modelling for a range of advertising campaigns, which led to her discovery by the editorial team of the '' Daily Star'' tabloid, where they began featuring her as a Page Three girl. She was crowned '' FHM''s Sexiest Woman in the World in 2005, and as of 2015 had featured in every ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest countdown since 1998. As an actress, Brook has appeared in the films '' ''Ripper'''' (2001), '' The Italian Job'' (2003), '' School for Seduction'' (2004), '' House of 9'' (2004), '' Survival Island'' (2005), '' Fishtales'' (2007), '' Piranha 3D'' (2010), and '' Taking Stock'' (2015). She has appeared on numerous British television shows, including '' The Big Breakfast'' (1999), '' Strictly Come Dancing'' (2007), '' Britain's Got Talent'' (2009), '' Celebrity Juice'' (2012–2015), '' One Big Happy'' (2015), '' ''It's Not Me, It's You'''' (2016), '' Loose Women'' (2018), and ''
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television Cooking show, baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of ...
'' (2020). Since 2019, Brook has co-presented Heart London's ''Drivetime Radio Show'' with Jason King.


Early life

Brook was born Kelly Anne Parsons in
Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...
, the daughter of Sandra Kelly, a cook, and Kenneth Parsons, a scaffolder. She has a younger brother, Damian, and an older half-sister, Sasha. Kenneth Parsons died, aged 57, in Rochester from lung cancer, on 26 November 2007, during Brook's time on '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Brook attended the Thomas Aveling School in Warren Wood, Rochester. In 1996, at the age of seventeen, she appeared in the second series of '' Fist of Fun'', the BBC comedy show from Stewart Lee and Richard Herring as a schoolgirl in a series of sketches entitled 'Teachers' (one of her co-stars was the young Daniel Mays). She studied at the
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...
for three years, before becoming a professional model at the age of 16.


Modelling career

Brook's modelling career began at 16 after she won a beauty competition, into which her mother had entered her. She later worked on a range of advertising campaigns, including Foster's Lager, Renault Mégane, Walker's crisps, Piz Buin and Bravissimo, a company that specialises in bras and lingerie for large-breasted women. Soon after, she 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 lads' mags such as '' GQ'', '' Loaded'' and '' FHM''. A poll of 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. Appearing in this list every year since 1998, she ranked No. 34 in 2008, No. 67 in 2009, and No. 7 in 2010."Kelly Brook — Kent's finest bra model"
Kelly Brook at FHM.com
She was the cover star of ''FHM'' World Cup 2010 special issue, and was on the cover of the magazine in April 2011. In February 2007, it was announced that Brook had signed a contract, reported to be worth around £1m, to represent Unilever's Lynx body spray, known as "Axe" in the US and in
continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
. She has appeared on billboards, in newspapers and on-line as part of their advertising campaign. She also appeared in commercials for Sky+ and
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
and modelled for Reebok. In 2010, she was chosen as the "new face and body" of lingerie maker Ultimo's advertising campaign. In September 2010, Brook appeared in the American edition of '' Playboy'' magazine. In October 2010, Brook appeared live at
Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...
Picture House to surprise cinemagoers as part of a promotion for Carlsberg and Sky 3D. In November 2010, Brook presented an award at MTV's EMA's in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. Brook produced a line of swimwear with New Look, for which she has modelled. In September 2014, Brook launched a clothing line for
Simply Be Simply may refer to: * Simply (Blossom Dearie album), ''Simply'' (Blossom Dearie album), 1982 * Simply (K. T. Oslin album), ''Simply'' (K. T. Oslin album), 2015 * "Simply", a song by De La Soul from the 2001 album ''AOI: Bionix'' * Simply Market, ...
. The following year, she became a brand ambassador for Skechers.


Acting career

In 2000, Brook made her full-screen debut with a minor role in the film '' Sorted''. Shortly after that, she appeared in the film '' Ripper''. She played the girlfriend of
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
/
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
's nemesis Lex Luthor in four episodes of the American science fiction drama ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' during the show's first season (2001–02). She has also completed assignments as a film actress in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and made a short appearance as Lyle's girlfriend in the 2003 film '' The Italian Job''. Her first starring role was in the 2004 film '' School for Seduction'', for which she received positive reviews. In 2004, she played character Nikki Morris in the video game '' Need for Speed Underground 2'', alongside Brooke Burke. In 2005, she appeared in the Philippe Vidal thriller '' House of 9'', and starred opposite Billy Zane in the survival thriller '' Survival Island'', also known as ''Three''. In 2006, she starred in an '' Agatha Christie's Marple'' drama on ITV and appeared as herself throughout the second series of '' Moving Wallpaper'', also for ITV, in 2009. She acted in the science fiction thriller ''Shadow Play'', directed by Nick Simon. Brook had a leading role in the horror comedy remake '' Piranha 3D''. The film received a worldwide theatrical release on 20 August 2010. ''Piranha 3D'' opened to generally positive reviews and commercial success, grossing $83.2 million on a budget of $24 million. Kelly played herself alongside Leigh Francis in the British comedy film '' Keith Lemon: The Film'' (2012). In 2013, Brook appeared in the video to Lawson's song " Juliet". In 2014 she was cast as Prudence in an NBC sitcom pilot called '' One Big Happy'', which was subsequently picked up on 9 May.


Theatre

In December 2000, she played exotic dancer Anya in the play ''Eye Contact'' at the Riverside Studios in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...
. In October 2008, she returned to the West End as Jeannie, in Neil LaBute's '' Fat Pig'' at London's Comedy Theatre. In November 2009, she began playing Celia in '' Calendar Girls'' at the Noël Coward Theatre. Brook made a cameo appearance in the cabaret show "Forever Crazy" by Crazy Horse London end of 2012.


Other work


Music videos

In 1997, at age 17, Brook appeared as a nurse in the music video for the KMFDM song " Megalomaniac". That same year, Brook appeared in the video for Pulp's " Help the Aged" with Huck Whitney of the band the Flaming Stars, in a slow dance sequence. In 2013, Brook appeared in the Lawson music video for their song " Juliet", in the role of Juliet.


Television presenting

In 1997, aged 18, Brook started presenting youth television programmes on MTV UK & Ireland, Granada Television and the Trouble TV channel. Brook had a breakthrough into mainstream presenting in January 1999, when she was chosen to replace Denise van Outen as the female half of '' The Big Breakfast'' hosting team, alongside Johnny Vaughan. She left the show in July 1999. In 2005, she hosted the reality television programme '' Celebrity Love Island'' for ITV.


Reality television

In 2007, Brook participated in the celebrity dancing competition '' Strictly Come Dancing'' on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
with a dance partner Brendan Cole. During the TV series, her father, Kenneth Parsons, died of cancer. Although initially decided to continue dancing in his memory, she withdrew from the competition in week nine. She also competed in the '' Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2008'', dancing the Jive with Brian Fortuna, Brendan Cole having to compete with his later partner
Lisa Snowdon Lisa Snowdon
7 May 2001, ''People''
(born Lisa Snawdon; 23 January 1972) is an English television and ...
. Brook and Fortuna were put into fourth place, but with the studio audience's vote, they came second to Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett. In 2008, Brook took Jennifer Ellison's place as one of the three judges on the second series of the reality TV programme '' Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life'', broadcast between September and November 2008. In January 2009, she joined the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'' as a fourth judge but was subsequently axed from the programme after less than a week on the panel, the producers having decided the four-judge format was "too complicated". Brook was billed as a guest judge in the episode in which she appeared, taped in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and aired on 16 May. In 2013, Brook became a temporary team captain on '' Celebrity Juice'' aired on ITV2. She appeared in Season 9, replacing Fearne Cotton while she was on maternity leave. In 2016, Brook served as a team captain on the Channel 5 panel show ''
It's Not Me, It's You ''It's Not Me, It's You'' is the second studio album by English singer Lily Allen, released on 4 February 2009 by Regal Recordings and Parlophone. It was produced and co-written by Greg Kurstin, with whom Allen had previously worked on her deb ...
''. In 2021, Brook appeared on '' The Masked Dancer'', masked as a Frog. She was the eighth celebrity to be unmasked in the semi-final.


Books

In September 2014, Brook released her autobiography; it reached the '' Sunday Times'' Bestseller list on 21 September. Domestic violence groups criticised her during her promotional tour for laughing about punching ex-boyfriends Jason Statham and Danny Cipriani in the face.


Business

At end of 2013, Brook opened her bar Steam and Rye in London in partnership with Nick House. In June 2014, Steam and Rye won Bar of the Year at the London Club and Bar Awards.


Radio

Since January 2019, Brook has co-presented '' Heart London Drivetime'' and ''Saturday Breakfast with Jason King''.


Personal life

In 2014, on an appearance on ITV's '' This Morning'', she admitted to punching previous boyfriends Jason Statham and Danny Cipriani in the face, with Men's Domestic Abuse charity Menkind subsequently issuing a statement saying it was "extremely disappointed" by the segment. In July 2022, Brook married her longtime boyfriend Jeremy Parisi, whom she had dated since 2015.


Filmography


Film


Television


Television advertisements


Music videos


Bibliography

* ''Close Up'' (2014) (autobiography)


References


External links

*
JK and Kelly Brook on Heart Radio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Kelly 1979 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from Rochester, Kent Actresses from Kent Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts English female models English film actresses English radio presenters English television actresses English women radio presenters British glamour models Heart (radio network) presenters Models from Kent Page 3 girls Television personalities from Kent English television presenters