Kimberley Walsh

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Kimberley Walsh

Background information
Birth name	Kimberley Jane Walsh
Also known as	Kimba
Born	November 20, 1981 (age 25)
Origin	Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Genre(s)	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Voice
Years active	2002 to present
Label(s)	Polydor (2002 to present) Fascination Records (2006-present)
Associated acts	Girls Aloud

Kimberley Jane Walsh (born November 20, 1981) is an English singer and member of pop group Girls Aloud.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Girls Aloud
2 Personal life
- 2.1 Cannabis controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Walsh was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and grew up with two sisters (one who later appeared in Eastenders in 2005), and one brother in its Allerton suburb. Walsh had her first taste of fame starring in an advert as a child.

In 2000 she tried out for the role of Maria Sutherland in the soap opera Coronation Street, losing out to Samia Smith. Later she appeared in the television series This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper as Gillian Oldfield, and in the same year she starred in a BBC Educational Schools programme called Focus. In 2001 Kimberley played Tracy in Dream Back.

[edit] Girls Aloud

While studying for a BA degree in English and Media at Trinity and All Saints College, University of Leeds, in 2002 during her second year Walsh auditioned for a reality television show dedicated to assembling a new girl group: Popstars: The Rivals. She and future bandmate Nicola Roberts did not originally make the final ten, but Walsh was brought back to the competition when original finalist Hazel was found to be over the age limit - she resultantly droped out of university. On the show she performed:

"Baby Can I Hold You"
"Emotion"
"Unbreak My Heart"
"Chain Reaction"

Walsh was the fourth girl to be voted into Girls Aloud, much to the delight of her friend and new bandmate, Nadine Coyle, with whom she had become good friends during the course of the show.

While in Girls Aloud, Walsh has been popular among the band's male fan base. In April 2004, Heat magazine named her toned stomach as the fifth best in the world, ahead of superstar Beyoncé and singer Rachel Stevens. In 2005, Walsh was ranked forty-fourth in the "100 Sexiest Females In The World" list published by FHM magazine; in 2006, she was ranked at sixty-six.

Walsh co-hosted the 25 August 2006 episode of The Friday Night Project with Cheryl Cole and Sarah Harding, on which she did an impression of Pop Idol and X Factor judge Simon Cowell.

[edit] Personal life

As of May 2006, Walsh was dating and living with Triple 8 singer Justin Scott. Episode 5 of Girls Aloud: Off the Record featured a segment where Scott and Walsh were interviewed at their London residence which they had been sharing for about a year.

Walsh is a supporter of Bradford City.

[edit] Cannabis controversy

On 8 June 2006, Walsh publicly apologised for smoking cannabis after being caught on camera smoking a spliff. She immediately owned up to it when questioned about the photo, which was taken on 31 December 2005, whilst she was attending a friend's party. She told The Sun newspaper that she had got caught up in the moment and was deeply sorry, and that she realised what she did was wrong, especially since she is in a position where young fans look up to her^[1].

However, it was reported on 9 June 2006 that Walsh's father, John, denied that she had ever smoked cannabis, and that she was just holding a rolled up cigarette that wasn't even lit. He also claimed that Victoria Newton at The Sun pressured Kimberley into apologising for something that she hadn't done, threatening that if she didn't then Newton would make the story worse^[2].

Despite this, Walsh admitted in an interview with The Sun's sister paper, The Times, on 20 October 2006 that she had taken a couple of puffs on the spliff, but didn't see the incident as a big deal^[3].