Kelly Brook

23 November 1979) is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, and television presenter.

Modelling career

Brook's modelling career began at 16 after winning a beauty competition, in which she was entered by her mother.^[1] She later worked on a range of advertising campaigns, including for Foster's Lager, Renault Mégane, Walker's crisps, Piz Buin and Bravissimo, a company that specialises in bras and lingerie for large-breasted women. Her figure eventually caught the eye of the editorial team of the Daily Star tabloid,^[4] 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. In April of the same year, a poll 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.^[5] She was the cover star of FHM's World Cup 2010 special issue,^[6] and was on the cover of the magazine in April 2011.^[5]
In February 2007, it was announced that Brook had signed a contract, reported to be worth around £1m, to represent Unilever's Lynx bodyspray, known as "Axe" in the US and in continental Europe.^[7] She has appeared on billboards, in newspapers and on-line as part of their advertising campaign.^[8] She has also appeared in commercials for Sky + and T Mobile and modelled for Reebok.
In 2010, she was chosen as the "new face and body" of lingerie maker Ultimo's advertising campaign.^[9] In September 2010, Brook appeared in the American edition of Playboy magazine.^[10] In October 2010, Kelly Brook appeared live at Clapham Picture House to surprise cinemagoers as part of a promotion for Carlsberg and Sky 3D.^[11] In November 2010, Brook presented an award at MTV's EMA's in Madrid.^[12]
Brook produces her own line of swimwear with New Look, which she herself has modelled.^[13]

Television

Presenter

In 1997, aged eighteen, Brook started presenting youth television programmes on MTV, Granada Television and the Trouble TV channel.^[4]
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.^[14]
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, with dance partner was Brendan Cole. During the TV series, her father Kenneth Parsons died from cancer,^[3] and although she initially decided to continue dancing in his memory, she withdrew from the competition in week nine.^[15]
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. 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,^[16] 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 that the four-judge format was "too complicated".^[17] Brook was billed as a guest judge in the episode in which she appeared, taped in Manchester and aired on 16 May. In October 2009, Brook claimed that Britain's Got Talent hosts Ant & Dec had been the cause of her removal as the fourth judge. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.^[18]

Acting career

In 1997, she appeared in a Pulp video Help the Aged with Huck Whitney of the band the Flaming Stars, in a slow dance sequence.^{[citation needed]}
Brook made her full screen debut with a minor role in the film Sorted. Shortly thereafter, she appeared in the film Ripper. She played the girlfriend of Clark Kent/Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor in four episodes of the American science fiction drama Smallville during the show's first season (2001–02). She has also completed assignments as a film actress in Canada and made a short appearance as Lyle's girlfriend in the 2003 film The Italian Job.
Her first starring role was in School for Seduction, a 2004 film – she received positive reviews for her role, "Seduction offers a few twists on the rapidly degenerating format, not the least of which is the comely Brook in the lead role."^[19] 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 film House of 9, a thriller about nine seemingly unconnected strangers captured and locked in a house together. The people are forced to compete against one another, in order to survive.
Also in 2006, she starred in a 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.^[20]
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 grossed $83,188,163 on a budget of $24,000,000.^[21]
Kelly also played as herself in the British comedy movie Keith Lemon: The Film. In the film she was to marry the entrepreneur Keith Lemon (portrayed by Leigh Francis) and divorce him taking all of his newly acquired riches. This doesn’t go to plan as due to an issue with a product in the film where people uncontrollably gurn, including Kelly Brook.