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| Birth Name(s) : Charlotte Maria Reed |
Date of Birth: February 21, 1986 |
| Status:
N/A
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Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Actor/Musician |
Official Site
Go to the Charlotte Church Official Homepage |
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Full Charlotte Church Biography
Charlotte Maria Church was born on February 21, 1986 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom to Michael Reed and his wife Maria. The couple separated shortly after the child's birth, and she was left in her mother's care. She started singing publicly when she was only three and a half years old, singing the _Ghostbusters (1984)_ theme with her cousin at a seaside holiday camp in Caernarfon, Wales. She came to public notice after an appearance on the UK daytime magazine program, "This Morning" (aka "Richard and Judy") and then made an impromptu appearance on 'The Big, Big Talent Show'. She came on to say a few words about her aunt Caroline, who was also making an appearance on the show, and the show's host, Jonathan Ross, asked her to sing. She stole the show and immediately became an overnight sensation in her native Wales.
More television and concert appearances followed, such as the ones at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales, the London Palladium, and the Royal Albert Hall, and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp, Belgium. She was signed to Sony Music (UK) and has released three best selling albums of popular classics. |
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Additional Charlotte Church Biography
Charlotte Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed on February 21, 1986) is a Welsh singer and television presenter who rose to international fame in childhood as a popular classical singer with a precociously mature dramatic operatic voice, in particular in its tonal qualities. Since 2000, she has branched out into pop music.
Church was born in Llandaf, a district of Cardiff, Wales. She was raised a Roman Catholic by her mother, Maria, who was separated from Church's biological father. Church was legally adopted by her mother's second husband, James Church. She had her first taste of stardom when she performed "Ghostbusters" at a holiday camp in Caernarfon at the age of 3, and it was rumoured that she had to be dragged from the stage when she refused to leave (she denied that part in her autobiography). Her big break came at the age of 11 when she sang "Pie Jesu" on the television show Talking Telephone Numbers in 1997, closely followed by her performance on ITV's Big, Big Talent Show in 1998. This led to concerts at Cardiff Arms Park, Royal Albert Hall and the opening spot for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp.
In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, principally an album of Christmas carols, but including Church's first foray into a more pop-influenced genre: the title track Dream a Dream, a memorable song borrowing the melody from Fauré's Pavane and featuring young American country singer Billy Gilman. Church also sang with Gilman in a duet ("Sleigh Ride") on his CD Classic Christmas.
In 2001, Church added more pop, swing, and Broadway to her classical repertoire with her album Enchantment. That same year, movie-going audiences heard Church for the first time in the 2001 Ron Howard film A Beautiful Mind. Since Celine Dion was not available to perform the film's end title song, "All Love Can Be" (Dion was beginning her concert engagement in Las Vegas), composer James Horner enlisted Church to handle the vocals, and the song was re-written to Church's vocal range. Church also handled other vocal passages throughout the score.
In 2002, at the age of 16, she released a 'best of' album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding her classical music career. Her next album, Tissues and Issues, would be of a rather different genre.
Church has also sung in religious services in Taizé. She has also performed before Pope John Paul II and Bill Clinton, who was the United States President at the time.
In 2005, she issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues and the first four singles have all been at least moderately successful in the UK with "Crazy Chick" reaching no. 2, "Call My Name" number 10, "Even God Can't Change the Past" number 17, and "Moodswings (to Come at Me like That)" number 14. Although these were released in Australia as well, they failed to reach the same level of success there, and in March 2006 it was announced that there would be no US releases of Church's pop work until she had achieved a number 1 hit in the UK.
In the summer of 2006, Church began work on her own entertainment TV show, The Charlotte Church Show. After a pilot episode which caused some controversy and which was never released to the public, the series began on 1 September 2006, on Channel 4.
Church's personal life has often been portrayed in the sensationalist tabloid newspapers in the UK (inspiring the song "Let's Be Alone" on her album Tissues and Issues).
Church released an autobiography titled Voice of an Angel (My Life So Far), at the age of 14 (before the release of "Enchantment" and just after she had wrapped up her "Dream a Dream" Christmas CD). Her eventual change of music direction is foreshadowed in the final chapter, entitled "Turning Corners."
On Thursday, 20 September 2007 at 10.35PM GMT Charlotte gave birth to a baby girl named Ruby Megan Henson. On Monday September 24th, the couple announced their daughter's name through their website. In Wednesday 3rd October issue of OK! Magazine the couple present baby Ruby in an exclusive at home shoot.
The couple have been nicknamed the "Welsh Victoria and David Beckham". In 2007, Church made another appearance on a British young people's rich list with Henson. They were ranked as the 49th richest young people in Britain with an estimated joint wealth of £10 million.
Church has lent her support to the production of limited-edition T-shirts or vests for the 'Little Tee Campaign' for Breast Cancer Care which donates money for breast cancer research.
Controversy surrounds the circumstances of the dismissal of Church's first manager, Jonathan Shalit. He was allegedly discharged from her representation in a letter faxed by Charlotte's mother; although allegations were later made by the Church family of "inappropriate tactile conduct" on the part of Mr. Shalit, nothing ever came of them. Shalit subsequently sued for breach of contract and received an out-of-court settlement believed to be worth 2 million pounds sterling (although the exact details were never released, as one of the parties to the matter was a minor and such details are protected under UK law).
She has claimed that she would be a better judge for the reality show X-Factor than any of the judges on the show. She becomes "annoyed" when their remarks are inaccurate, stating "they just do not know the ins and outs of a voice or music like what I do, innit." |
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| Me? An angel! Just ask my mum about that! |
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