Sophie Ellis Bexter

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Sophie Ellis Bextor

Profession: Singer
Place/Date of Birth: London, 10 April 2020

Sophie To Star in Friends - 24/08/01
’Real Posh’, as she was dubbed after last year’s clash with Posh Spice, is being touted as the latest British star of the US sitcom Friends.

Sophie who went to school in Hammersmith at Goldolphin and Latimer school could take over the part of Ross’s English wife Emily, a part previously played by Cold Feet star Helen Baxendale. Helen is not available as she is just about to have a baby.

Sophie, 21 - daughter of former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis - told the Evening Standard: "I’m thrilled with the offer. I’d love to take on a role like this in such a high-profile show. Although it’s an American sitcom, it has such a wide appeal and is watched around the world. I’m a fan myself."

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Biography

Born in Middlesex, Greater London in 1979, Sophie Ellis Bextor was educated at Godolphin and Latimer School in Hammersmith and is the daughter of Janet Ellis, a former Blue Peter presenter. Sophie has always had a fairly definite ideas about who she wanted to be. She edited her school newspaper at Godolphin and Latimer and whenever debates about music came up in the playground, would confidently declare: "I prefer the original." By 16 a love of Madonna and Michael Jackson had been swapped for Britpop as Sophie, clad in Adidas, hung out at West End clubs like Popscene. " I loved that very tongue-in-cheek English thing" she explains.

She’d already started singing and at the club Uncle Bob’s Wedding Reception met musician Billy Reeves and handed him a tape. Two years later theaudience emerged, dressed in black, with spiky guitar pop and a bona-fida star in the shape of chicly glamorous Ellis-Bextor. But despite the media acclaim, two Top 30 singles and a breezily confident album that owed more to classic Pretenders than it did Pulp, theaudience crumbled when Billy, the brain of the band, walked out.

In the summer of 2001 though Sophie stepped into the limelight as a solo artist. Her voice on Spiller’s "Groovejet (if This Ain’t Love)" was deliciously infectious, with a sexily-composed vocal that sang, "If this ain’t love, why does it feel so good?" Sophie and Spiller shot to Number One beating off competition from Victoria Beckham and leading to her being dubbed ’The Real Posh’ as she sported a cheeky ’Peckham’ tshirt to celebrate her victory.

Sophie follwed up her success with a debut album, Read My Lips, and several successful singles including Murder on the Dancefloor, Take Me Home and Music Gets The Best Of Me. However, when Shoot From The Hip, her second album failed to produce any real hits she took time off to be with her baby Sonny and marry The Feeling guitarist Richard Jones.

She is currently set to release a third album in collaboration with, among others, Fred Schneider of the B52s, Cathy Dennis and Shelley Poole. Trip the Light Fantastic is expected to be released in the spring of 2007.

September 2007