Katie Price (born 22 May 1978), previously known under the pseudonym Jordan, is an English media personality, author, former glamour model, occasional singer and businesswoman.
Her time at topless female glamour model pictorial Page Three in British tabloid newspaper The Sun instantly shot Price into the limelight. Her placement in the public's spotlight has allowed Price to expand into a variety of different industries including television, books, fashion and music.
Price has experienced many highly-publicised relationships in the eye of the British media and has been married twice, to singer Peter Andre in 2005 - the couple divorced in 2009 - and to professional fighter Alex Reid in 2010; the couple separated in 2011.
Life and career
1978–93: Early life
Katie Price was born Katrina Amy Alexandria Alexis Infield in Brighton, East Sussex, England, to parents Amy (née Charlier) and Ray Infield. Her maternal grandmother was Jewish and her other grandparents on both sides were Anglican. In 1982, at the age of four, her parents separated when her father left the family. In 1988, her mother married builder Paul Price, after which, Price obtained the surname. She has an older brother named Daniel and a younger maternal half-sister, Sophie.
Price attended Blatchington Mill School and although not an academic student, she excelled at sport, swimming for Sussex in regional competitions. During her childhood she also developed a passion for horses and horse-riding. She was molested by a man in a park's bushes at the age of six. She began modelling as a child, and at the age of 13 modeled for a clothing line. However, unknown to Price, the project's photographer was a convicted paedophile and insisted on shooting her in her underwear.
1994–96: Career beginnings
Price left school in 1994, at the age of 16, and after the suggestion of a friend to have some professional photographs taken she decided to pursue a modelling career. The pictures were sent to a modelling agency in London and in 1996 she was offered a job at Page Three, a topless female glamour model pictorial in British tabloid newspaper The Sun. She adopted the name Jordan in 1996, and made frequent appearances as a model on both Page Three and in men's lifestyle magazines.
1997–2003: Success as a model and branching into other areas
In 1996, when she was eighteen, Price's fame grew when she had breast enhancement surgery; increasing her natural 32B/C to a 32D. Unhappy with her breasts from an early age and despite her family's objections, she went ahead with the procedure because she felt that as a glamour model, she did not look "as sexy or [as] womanly" as other models. She would later have many enhancements, as well as reductions, on her breasts. She told a reporter, "Some people may be famous for creating a pencil sharpener. I'm famous for my tits." However, The Sun later barred Price from Page Three after announcing that they would only hire "all natural" models. However, she would continue modelling and has featured on the covers of FHM, Maxim, Nuts, Loaded, Vogue, British Elle and the British edition of Playboy.
In an attempt to cross over from modelling to other areas, Price auditioned for a part on the UK television remake of the American-series Baywatch in 1998, guest presented The Big Breakfast and played herself in an episode of Dream Team.
During the 2001 British General Election, Jordan ran as a candidate in Stretford and Urmston under her real name using the slogan: 'For a Bigger and Betta Future'. As part of her comical election campaign, she promised free breast implants, more nudist beaches, and a ban on parking tickets. In the end, Jordan won 713 votes, 1.8% of the votes cast.
In 2002, she appeared on the September cover of the American edition of Playboy magazine. Price's reputation led to a trio of documentaries by film-maker Richard Macer: Jordan: The Truth About Me (2002); later followed by Jordan: The Model Mum and Jordan: You Don't Even Know Me (2004).
2004–05: I'm a Celebrity, Peter Andre, Eurovision and further business ventures
Katie Price at a 2004 book signing event
Price's celebrity soon brought her to television; she was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! between the months of January and February in 2004, a reality television series where a group of celebrities live together in a jungle environment with few luxuries. It was there that she met Peter Andre whom she would eventually marry and later divorce.
She made a cameo appearance playing herself in an episode of the television drama series Footballers' Wives in March 2004 and also appeared in the programme Jordan Gets Even for Five.
Price appeared on Top Gear's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" in May 2004. She completed the lap in one minute and fifty-two seconds.
Price released the first of four autobiographies Being Jordan in May 2004. Initially turned down by the mainstream publishing houses after demanding a £1 million advance, she was eventually signed up by small independent publisher John Blake, a former tabloid journalist, for £10,000 plus royalties. In a departure from industry norms, she conducted a 10-day book signing tour which provoked enough interest – contrary to expectations and almost exclusively female – to propel her to first position in the Nielsen BookScan hardback sales chart and to sell 97,090 copies in one year; and over 1,000,000 as of January 2007.
She appeared in the documentaries Jordan: Living With a Dream (Channel 4) and the series When Jordan Met Peter (ITV), Jordan & Peter: Laid Bare (ITV2) and Jordan & Peter: Marriage and Mayhem (ITV2).
Price was one of the contestants in the selection process of finding a representative for the United Kingdom at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. The selection process, named Making Your Mind Up, was broadcast live on television in March 2005. Price sang a song titled "Not Just Anybody" wearing a skin-tight pink catsuit. She came in second place behind winner Javine.
In the summer of summer 2005, Price was one of many guest hosts of the first series of The Friday Night Project. In December 2005, she released an exercise fitness DVD, The Jordan Workout, featuring "The Juice Master" Jason Vale.
2006–07: Book releases, A Whole New World and Katie & Peter
Her second autobiography, A Whole New World, was published in January 2006. It reached number two in the hardback general category and sold 198,105 copies by 1 April 2006.
Her first ghost-written novel, Angel, about a young woman who becomes a model, was published in July 2006, and sold 300,000 copies in six weeks.
Price, with Peter Andre, released A Whole New World, a duet album, in November 2006. All sales of the album went to their chosen charities affiliated with the many health conditions of her eldest son, Harvey. The album debuted at number twenty on the UK Albums Chart and achieved platinum status.
In 2006 Price signed a £300,000 advance with Random House for Katie Price's Perfect Ponies, a series of children's books, with the first 6 released in 2007. Three more books have been released throughout 2008.[dead link] A title from that series, My Pony Care Book, was nominated for the WH Smith's Children's Book of the Year. In 2008, she released a new children's book series entitled Mermaids & Pirates, with six in the series. Four more are expected for release in April 2008.
Katie & Peter: Unleashed began in October 2007 on ITV2. A new series titled, Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter Down Under aired on ITV2 in March 2008 running for 13 weeks. Katie & Peter: Stateside began on Thursday 16 April 2009 on ITV2 and followed the family as they relocate to Malibu, California for three months, where Andre recorded his new album.
Her second ghost-written novel, Crystal, about a young woman's efforts to become a singer, sold 159,407 copies during the first three months after its release in June 2007. All four books were ghost-written by Rebecca Farnworth.
2008–09: Business ventures, split from Peter Andre, What Katie Did Next and return to I'm a Celebrity
Price modelling a bikini in November 2009
In February 2008, Price's third autobiography, Pushed to the Limit, was released. In July 2008, Price released her third novel, Angel Uncovered. In July 2009, Price released a novel entitled Sapphire which was number 1 on the hardback fiction chart for four consecutive weeks and sold 42,215 copies in its first two weeks in the UK alone.
After three and a half years of marriage, Price and Andre separated in May 2009 after Andre's decision to leave her. They were officially divorced on 8 September 2009, two days before what would have been their fourth wedding anniversary.
A series aired in August/September 2009 called What Katie Did Next (now called Katie), which showed Price's life/career after her split and eventual divorce from Andre. Price released a fashion/how-to manual in October 2009 called Standing Out.
In November 2009, Price made a return visit to I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. Presenters Ant & Dec insinuated during the broadcast that the surprise of Price's return had been ruined by the media. Whilst in the jungle, the public repeatedly voted Price to undertake each and every "Bush Tucker Trial" challenge. After it had been announced that Price had been selected for her seventh consecutive trial, she decided to quit the show and left one week after her arrival.
2010–present: Alex Reid, You Only Live Once and current business ventures
In July 2010, Price released "Free to Love Again", a non-album single. About the release, she explained: "I'm not a singer, this is just something that I'm doing for fun. It's not like I'm worried about getting a chart position or number one, this is purely for fun. Whether people like it or not, I'm doing it." The single had scarce promotion or radio play and was negatively received by contemporary critics. It charted at number sixty on the UK Singles Chart and was only supported by performances on GMTV and at various London nightclubs. On all occasions, she admitted that she had been lip-synching.
Price released her fifth novel, Paradise, in July 2010.
Giving a personal insight to her life between the start of 2008 and the summer of 2010, Price released her fourth autobiography titled You Only Live Once in October 2010. The book documents her split from Andre and leads up to her marriage to Alex Reid. Price dedicated the autobiography to Andre, amongst other family members and close friends, in the "hope [that he] find the happiness [he has] always been searching for". She also thanks him for taking her on a journey of self-discovery.
Price continues to write a regular advice column in OK! magazine.
In January 2011, it was reported in the Daily Mirror that Price was separating from Reid.
Katie is confirmed to dance with her boyfriend Leandro Penna on the Argentine television programme Bailando por un Sueño 2012 of the channel El Trece.
Endorsements
In October 2003, Price appeared in an advertising campaign for the supermarket chain Kwik Save. To publicise the chain's promotion to cut the prices of their leading lines in half, Price was sawn in half by magician Peter McCahon.
In November 2006, Price launched The Katie Price Lingerie Collection in conjunction with Panache, available exclusively at Asda stores, as well as a follow-up jewellery deal with Argos.
In 2007, Price was announced as the new face of Foxy Bingo and launched a hair care range at Superdrug. She also brought out her first perfume, 'Stunning', in August. Her second perfume, 'Besotted', was released in September 2008. November 2007 saw Price releasing her 'Jordan' hair care electrical range at Superdrug. There was a hairdryer, straighteners and curlers. She released a second, similar range in November 2008 under the name 'Katie Price', to somewhat differing design.
In 2008, Price signed a deal with Derby House to launch her equestrian range named 'KP Equestrian'. On 23 March 2008, Price launched her springwear of KP Equestrian as well as KP Pony, which is for children.
In 2008, Price was refused admission to Guards Polo Club for the most prestigious day in the international Polo Season and a highlight of the British Social Season, the Hurlingham Polo Cartier International match for the Coronation Cup, presented by Prince Charles. She attempted to circumvent this by buying a table at the Chinawhite marquee for £6,000 through her agent, but this was refused as well. A statement said "Jordan has been told she is not welcome. Polo is very prestigious and there are certain names they want there and others they definitely don’t. Jordan is still too 'chavvy' as far as Cartier is concerned. Having Jordan there just wouldn’t be in keeping with Cartier’s image. If she turns up she will not be allowed access".
In 2009 Price was named as the Patron of a charity polo match that was played at an Estate, near Epping, Essex. She was photographed arriving by helicopter, wearing a mini-dress and stiletto heels. Ex-boyfriend Dane Bowers and Jade Goody's widower Jack Tweed also attended.
Controversy
Price and Andre were criticised for sexually explicit behaviour in their reality show. In taping the show the couple re-enacted sex scenes (while fully clothed) and had frank discussions about sex.
The couple were libelled by an ex-employee and later accepted damages from the News of the World newspaper after it published the accusations about their parental abilities.
In May 2009, three days after her announced separation from Andre, her management company of five years said that they would no longer represent her. They have chosen to represent Andre instead.
Relationships
Peter Andre and Price during the 2009 London Marathon
Price embarked on several brief relationships with celebrities and sports stars including footballers Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, singer Gareth Gates, and Warren Furman (Ace from the television series Gladiators). Jordan experienced a much-publicised relationship with Dane Bowers of the boy band Another Level and had an abortion after discovering he had cheated on her.
After spending time on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Price and Peter Andre got together. In September 2005, she married Andre, at Highclere Castle, Hampshire. However, in May 2009, they announced that they were separating after three and a half years of marriage. In a televised interview with Piers Morgan in July 2009, Price claimed that their break-up was partly due to Andre's jealousy of her relationship with dressage trainer Andrew Gould, which she claimed was entirely platonic. However, she described it finally came to an end when she was photographed in a Bristol nightclub after she and Andre had agreed that they would not go out without each other. She also revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage before the split.
In July 2009, Price began dating MMA fighter and former Hollyoaks actor Alex Reid. On 2 February 2010, Price married Alex Reid in a private ceremony in Las Vegas at the chapel in the Wynn Hotel, although some press reports claimed their wedding was not legal. They later formally married in a church in the UK which was filmed and shown on her TV series. They separated in January 2011. She then began dating Argentine model Leandro Penna after meeting him at the Oscars. In April 2011, while visiting his parents in Córdoba Province in Argentina, they had an auto accident when they ran into a pair of horses. They split in October 2011, but are still together in love, Finally, the former model said through her Twitter account to follow in love with Argentine model, achieving reconciliation between both.
Children
In May 2002, she gave birth to her first son, Harvey, in Brighton. Harvey's father is former footballer Dwight Yorke. Jordan has said she had intended to have at least one birth shown live over the Internet, but she later decided to keep it private. He was found to be blind, having a condition known as septo-optic dysplasia, meaning that the development of his optic nerve was unpredictable. As he has matured, she has also discovered that he is on the autistic spectrum, gains weight easily, and finds walking difficult.
In June 2005, Price gave birth by Caesarean section to her second child, a boy named Junior Savva Andreas Andre, in Westminster, London. In June 2007, she gave birth to her third child: a daughter named Princess Tiaamii Crystal Esther Andre.
Surgery
In 2002, Price was treated for cancer. She had a leiomyosarcoma on her finger and the tumour was removed at a Nuffield Hospital near her Brighton home.
In December 2007, Price underwent surgery in the United States to reduce the size of her breast implants and also had rhinoplasty. However, she was not happy with the results of her breast implants, so returned to Beverly Hills, California in July 2008 for corrective surgery. She returned to the United Kingdom with much smaller breasts: a size 32C.
Legal issues
In September 2009, Price claimed that she had previously been raped by a "famous celebrity", but had not reported the incident. Price insisted that she would "absolutely never" reveal who the attacker was. Surrey Police stated that they had not contacted Price: "No allegation of rape has been made and Miss Price will not be making a statement to police".
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