Louise Redknapp

Louise Elizabeth Redknapp (née Nurding) (born 4 November 1974, in Lewisham, London) is an English singer and television presenter, known as a member of the girl group Eternal and subsequently as a solo singer (billed simply as "Louise"). She attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

Among UK sport fans she is known as the wife of English footballer-turned-pundit Jamie Redknapp.

In the July 2004 edition of FHM, she was named Sexiest Woman of the Decade. She is a main judge on So You Think You Can Dance in UK.

Music career

Eternal

While out clubbing at the age of 16 Nurding met music producer Denis Ingoldsby who was forming an all girl group. She subsequently introduced Denis to her friend Kéllé Bryan.

Bryan and Nurding, together with sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, formed Eternal in 1992. They performed a mixture of heavy R&B, soul, pop and dance. Eternal's debut single "Stay" entered the UK charts at number four, and their debut album, Always and Forever, sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK.

Nurding left the group in 1995, amid rumours that she had been asked to leave by the Eternal's management and/or record company as they wanted to market Eternal in the U.S. as an all-black R&B group. These rumours were, however, denied.

Solo career with EMI

In late 1995 Nurding signed a record deal with First Avenue management and EMI Records. Professionally now known simply as "Louise", her debut solo single was the orchestral ballad "Light of My Life" (which reached number eight on the UK charts), followed by "In Walked Love" (previously a hit from the self-titled 1992 album by the dance/pop group Exposé). Her third single, "Naked", reached number five in the UK.

Nurding's debut solo album, also entitled Naked, was released in 1996. The album received lukewarm reviews Template:Fact but nevertheless, it peaked at number seven in the UK album charts. It was later certified Platinum by the BPI for over 300,000 copies sold. Two further singles were released: "Undivided Love" (UK #5) and "One Kiss From Heaven" (UK #9).

In 1997, Nurding returned with the single "Arms Around The World", which reached number four in the UK. Her second solo album, Woman in Me, peaked at an extremely respectable number five in the UK and went on to be gain multi-platinum status. The album almost made an impact across Europe where it charted well in a number of countries. To support and celebrate the success of the album Louise embarked on a UK wide 'sell-out' arena tour of over twenty dates, including Wembley Arena.

"Let's Go Round Again" (a cover of a song by The Average White Band) was the second single released from the album, which reached no.10.

At the start of 1998, Nurding's career was at a high point: her second album had gone platinum, she was on the cover of magazines such as 'Smash Hits' and 'GQ' and had been voted The Sexiest Woman In The World by the readers of FHM magazine.

In 1998, she married footballer Jamie Redknapp, then focused on making what she described Template:Fact as her "most personal album to date", Elbow Beach. Released in 2000, Louise was more involved in the process of this album than her previous two, co-writing all 12 tracks and co-producing most of them.

The lead single from 'Elbow Beach', the R&B-styled "2 Faced" went straight into the charts at number three, and became Louise's highest charting single. Despite the initial hype and critical praise, total sales for Elbow Beach were weaker than the previous two productions, and the album peaked at number twelve. The same year, Louise was hired to 'sex up' the 2000 National Egg Awareness Campaign.

After the 'Elbow Beach' was released, she had one album left on her five-album deal with EMI (including Eternal's Always and Forever). In 2001, the label decided to release a greatest hits compilation, incorporating all of her top ten hit singles (including those she had performed with Eternal), called Changing Faces - The Best Of Louise. The collection featured three new tracks, including a cover of Five Star's 1987 hit "The Slightest Touch". The album peaked at number nine in the UK, and she embarked on the second solo tour of her career.

EMI later released a second greatest hits album entitled Finest Moments, with a slightly different tracklisting.

After EMI

In 2002 Redknapp signed a £1.5 million contract Template:Fact with her manager Oliver Smallman's Positive Records (a division of Universal Music) to record her fourth solo album. The album was due for release in 2004 alongside the single Bounce Back. However, due to becoming pregnant with her son Charley, the album was never released. The only single released from the album was the double A-side Pandora's Kiss / Don't Give Up which peaked at number five and raised money for Tickled Pink / Breast Cancer Care. The unreleased album saw Louise work with the likes of Sylvia Bennett Smith and Marc 'M2E' Smith (Destiny's Child, Jamelia, Stacie Orrico, Terri Walker), Mark Hill (Craig David) and Pete Martin (Sugababes, Dannii Minogue, Nate James). The album would also have included Louise's first duet with boyband 3rd Wish on the track Don't Ever Change.

After switching managers again (to Merlin Elite) in 2004, several songs were given Internet-only releases: Bounce Back, Slam, Lil' Lou, Don't Ever Change and Make it Fit. Louise has always professed that she would love to return to music if the time was right.

Career outside of music

On television, Louise has presented editions of SMTV Live, CD:UK, Soccer Aid: Extra Time, This Morning (interviewing fashion designer Tracy Boyd and others), three series of the revived The Clothes Show for UKTV Style, and in March 2007 the controversial documentary The Truth About Size Zero for ITV1.

Alongside her husband Jamie Redknapp and former footballer Tim Sherwood, Redknapp is publishing a magazine called Icon Magazine, aimed solely at professional sports stars and celebrities.

She has been seen as the face of a number of advertising campaigns: the Safe And White campaign for Boots, Flora's' Omega 3 products, Boots and BT. She is currently brand ambassador for the new Orbit gum Complete detox guide to teeth and mouth and a model for Avon.

In December 2003, she appeared alongside fellow celebrities Linda Barker and James Hewitt on the Joe Lebaro TV special, Magician Impossible. During the show, she took part in an illusion called Clearly Impossible, in which she was sawed in half by Lebaro in the same clear-sided box that David Copperfield used regularly to saw his ex-wife Claudia Schiffer in half during his 1990s stage shows.

In autumn 2007 Redknapp was unveiled as the new face of Triumph lingerie for 2007, 2008 and 2009. In November 2008 The Redknapp Family were also unveiled as the Nintendo Wii Family for their Christmas 2008 Advertising Campaign followed by The Louise Redknapp Nintendo Wii Fit Campaign in March 2009. In 2010 Louise and husband Jamie also fronted a new Campaign by Thomas Cook promoting their Holidays on TV and throughout the media.

In 2009 Louise filmed a follow up Documentary 'The Truth about Super Skinny Pregnancies' displaying the pressures on women to stay in shape during and after their pregnancies. She has other presenting projects planned for 2009.

In September 2009 Redknapp presented The Farmer Wants a Wife for Five, a relaunch of a series which originally appeared on ITV in 2001. In 2009 Louise was also announced as the face of online fashion retailer Fashion Union.

In January 2010 Redknapp took over from Amanda Hamilton as the full-time presenter of the BBC Sunday morning programme Something for the Weekend. She is also a judge on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance, broadcast on BBC1.

Personal life

Redknapp was born in Lewisham, London, to her builder father, and mother who worked at Gatwick Airport. Louise and her two younger brothers grew up in Eltham, London, and Oxted, Surrey. At the age of 11, she joined the Italia Conti Academy stage school and met Kéllé Bryan on her first day.

Louise married now-retired football player Jamie Redknapp on 29 June 1998. After diagnosis of back pain from endometriosis, through treatment by laser surgery, on 27 July 2004 Redknapp gave birth to a boy named Charley William Redknapp at the Portland Hospital. The boy's name was in honour of Louise's grandfather, who died on the day she found out that she was pregnant with Charley. She gave birth to her second son Beau Henry Redknapp also at the Portland Hospital on 10 November 2008. Louise is a vegetarian, who exercises through boxing.

Charitable activity

In 2003 Louise's single 'Pandora's Kiss' / 'Don't Give Up', was released to raise money for Breast Cancer Care's 'Tickled Pink' campaign. Louise has also participated in a celebrity edition of The Apprentice in order to raise money for charity. Sport Relief Does The Apprentice is part of the BBC's annual charity initiative and aired on March 12 and March 14 2008. Over £400,000 was raised. Louise organised a charity sale of celebrity designer clothes at the London department store Selfridges for charity Mothers4Children in November 2009.