Kerry Katona

Katona was born in Warrington, Cheshire. Katona's maternal grandfather is Hungarian who fled Budapest to Britain during the Second World War.[3] As a child she was placed in care and brought up by four sets of foster parents and attended eight different schools.[4] She left school at sixteen to become a lap dancer, then joined a dance troupe that toured Europe.[5]

In 1999, 18-year-old Katona rose to fame as a member of Atomic Kitten, an all-female pop trio created by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman Andy McCluskey. The other original members were Natasha Hamilton and Liz McClarnon. Their debut single, "Right Now", was released in late November 1999 and reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart. Their second single, "See Ya", followed in March 2000 and was an even bigger success, reaching #6.[6] Following this initial success, Atomic Kitten performed an Asian tour and scored their first #1 hit there with "Cradle". The album, Right Now, was first released in Japan on 16 March 2000, and subsequently released in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2000 following the release of two further singles, "I Want Your Love" and "Follow Me", with a slightly modified track list. In 2000, the group also recorded a cover version of "The Locomotion" for the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Right Now was unsuccessful upon its first release, peaking at only #39 in the UK album chart.[6] Initially, there were no plans to focus on the global market and Atomic Kitten's record label, Innocent Records, was even considering dropping them because of their limited success. However, the record company were persuaded to allow the group to release one more single from the album.[7] That single, "Whole Again", became their first #1 hit in the United Kingdom and stayed at the top for 4 consecutive weeks.[6] Due to this success, "Whole Again" was released globally and reached #1 in 18 other countries, including 6 weeks in Germany and New Zealand.[8] The song and video for "Whole Again" originally featured Kerry Katona but she left the group several days before the single's release because she was pregnant.[9] Former Precious singer Jenny Frost replaced Katona in the lineup and the single was re-recorded.

After marrying Brian McFadden and taking his surname, Katona moved into television work, appearing on and presenting a mix of light-entertainment programmes such as Britain's Sexiest..., Loose Women, and elimiDATE. She appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank in 2001.[10] In February 2004, she won the third series of the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.[11] That July, she and McFadden appeared as judges on the RTÉ talent show You're a Star, which was used to select the Republic of Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest entry. On separating from McFadden in September 2004 she reverted to her maiden name.

In July 2005 Katona starred in My Fair Kerry on ITV, where she was taught airs and graces to transform herself from ladette to lady. She also starred in an Irish drama called Showbands that year.[12]

Between 2007 and 2009, Katona was the subject of three MTV reality shows: Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love, Kerry Katona: Whole Again, and Kerry Katona: What's the Problem? From a peak audience of 500,000 for Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love, viewership for Kerry Katona: What's the Problem?, a series about Katona's bipolar disorder, slumped to just 19,000 and MTV dropped her in August 2009.

In late 2009, Katona attempted to become a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother 2010 but was rejected by the show's executives after she failed the required psychological tests.[13]

Katona's latest reality show Kerry Coming Clean aired on 24 June 2010. Katona was a contestant on Dancing on Ice Series 6 with English ice skater Daniel Whiston. They were eliminated in week 5 in a skate-off against Jeff Brazier and partner Isabelle Gauthier.

Katona was the first housemate to enter the Big Brother House for the 2011 series of Celebrity Big Brother alongside Amy Childs and Tara Reid and others. She was voted the runner-up in the final after Paddy Doherty on 8 September 2011.

In March 2012, Hamilton confirmed that Atomic Kitten were reuniting for a summer tour, including a performance at Diamond Jubilee Concert. Hamilton also stated that the group were in talks to star in their own reality TV show regarding the comeback, following on the success of the 2011 Steps reunion and reality show.[14] Hamilton stated that she hoped former member, Kerry Katona, who quit the trio in 2001 before they found chart success, would join them on stage for a performance. The reunion was later dismissed by all three members due to the fight between Katona and Frost. In June 2012 Katona performed at Birmingham's Gay Pride singing some of her Atomic Kitten hits including Whole Again and Right Now. It was the first time in over 11 years that Katona performed.

However, it was announced on 18 October that the original members of Atomic Kitten would reunite for an ITV2 series along with other pop groups of their era, including B*Witched, Five, Liberty X and 911.[15][16]

In 2019, Katona appeared in the sixth series of E4 reality series Celebs Go Dating.[17]

• Right Now (2001)
• Greatest Hits (2004)
• The Collection (2005)
• Essential (2007)
• The Essential Collection (2012)
• Whole Again - The Best of Atomic Kitten (2015)

• " Feeling Love" (2014)

Emily Herbert's biography of Katona, Kerry: Story of a Survivor, appeared in September 2005.

Katona released her autobiography, Too Much, Too Young 5 October 2006, written with ghostwriter Fanny Blake[4] and Sue Katona, who consented to have her story told as well.[47]

In October 2007, Katona released her first novel. Tough Love (produced with the aid of a ghost-writer[48]) follows the story of the Crompton family and was published by Ebury Press. A second ghostwritten novel, The Footballer's Wife, was published in 2008. In 2012, Katona released her second autobiography, Still Standing: The Autobiography.

• Katona, Kerry (5 October 2006). Too Much, Too Young: My Story of Love, Survival and Celebrity. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-191390-8.
• Katona, Kerry (1 March 2007). Survive the Worst and Aim for the Best. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-191754-8.
• Katona, Kerry (18 October 2007). Tough Love. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-192319-8.
• Katona, Kerry (3 April 2008). The Footballer's Wife. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-192324-2.
• Katona, Kerry (22 November 2012). Still Standing: The Autobiography. Orion. ISBN 978-1-40-912746-8.

Katona is also well known for her glamour modelling.[49] She first posed for Page 3 at the age of 17.[49] Katona has also posed for the men's publication Zoo.[50] She has also done glamour modelling for a host of other high-profile publications appearing in the likes of New!,[51][52] Now Magazine.[53] and Star.[54]

Barely two months after having £15,000 worth of plastic surgery, which included having a breast reduction as she had her 32GG breasts reduced to an E cup in August 2008, Katona posed for Zoo Magazine in October 2008.[50]

She launched her own official OnlyFans acccount in May 2020.[55][56]

• Kerry Katona This Morning Interview
• Kerry Katona at IMDb
• Kerry Katona's biography at Random House
• Kerry Katona's biography at Biogs