Vernie Bennett

"Vernie" Bennett (born 17 May 1971) is an English singer. She is a founding member of R&B girl group Eternal, with her sister Easther Bennett also a member. The original line up included Kéllé Bryan and Louise Redknapp. The band was formed in 1991 and released their first single 'Stay' in 1993 which achieved their first top ten hit in the UK and their first top 20 hit on the American Billboard Hot 100 Chart.[1] Nominated for four Brit Awards, Vernie and her bandmates went on to sing the lead soundtrack for the Disney movie 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and achieve many more top ten hits thereafter. They sang for the Pope in the Vatican, took part in the apartheid movement by performing in Johannesburg's biggest ever outdoor concert with Midnight Oil, Sting and other well-known artists in South Africa[2] and have also featured on a Pepsi campaign early on in their careers. The band have sold over 10 million records and achieved their first number one in 1997.[3] A total number of five albums were released throughout the band's career; Always and Forever, Power of a Woman, Before the Rain, Greatest Hits, and Eternal. The latter self entitled album only included Vernie and her sister Easther and included their first release "What'cha Gonna Do" before the group disbanded altogether. Soon after this, Vernie Bennett returned to her studies and completed her law degree. She went on to complete her Bar finals and has since settled down to family life with husband Bryan. Vernie has been voted one of the top 50 sexiest women in FHM, and in 1998 featured on the front cover of Pride Magazine. She has presented Songs of Praise, 'Gala Bingo' and at MTV Awards. In 2013, Vernie re-joined her bandmates Easther and Kelle for a brief reunion on a show called the 'Big Reunion'. This led to the group performing a number of select gigs like 'Cardiff Gay Pride' 2014 before disbanding one last time. In 2014, Vernie talked to The Express newspaper about her anguish over losing her brother to lung cancer.[4] That same year she walked half a marathon for charity on the 'Shine Walk' raising money in his honour. In 2015, Bennett appeared with her husband Bryan on ITVs All Stars Mr & Mrs and raised a further £30,000 for charity, which she donated to Cancer Research and CMV Action UK.[5] She took her debut acting role on stage in Jack and the Beanstalk as the 'Spirit of the Beans',[6] and continues to be a great supporter of the charity known as CMV Action UK.