Happy Birthday, Cheryl Cole

Friday, June 29, 2007

Cheryl Cole, formerly Tweedy, will celebrate her 24th birthday, Saturday June 30th.

The Geordie singer shot to fame as part of British all-girl group Girls Aloud after auditioning for the 2002 series of Popstars: The Rivals. 

From thousands of contestants, Cheryl Cole sang her way to the final ten.  On the final night of the show the band was chosen by public vote and Cheryl received the highest count, making her the first member of the band.

Girls Aloud debut single, Sound of the Underground, became 2002’s UK Christmas number one and stayed at the top of the charts for four weeks.  The band have gone on to release another fourteen singles, all of which have peaked inside the top ten.  The most recent, a collaborative cover with fellow girl group Sugababes of Aerosmith’s Walk This Way became the group’s third UK number one

Last summer, Cheryl Tweedy married the English international footballer Ashley Cole at an expensive ceremony paid for by a glossy gossip magazine.  They will celebrate their first anniversary on July 15th this year.

Despite the obvious success and luxuries in her life, Cheryl’s time as a celebrity has not always been a happy one.  Early in 2003, a nightclub toilet attendant accused the pint sized popstar of racially aggravated assault; Cheryl claimed she was acting in self defence and denied making any racial comments.  The jury found her guilty of assault but cleared her of any racial motives.

Cheryl has also found herself a target of abuse from fellow pop stars Charlotte Church and Lily Allen with tabloids often sticking the boot in when given the chance.  However, they have no qualms using pictures of Cheryl and her bandmates to help sell copies of their newspapers.  Cheryl’s looks have also gained her recognition with FHM and she is a regular in the top ten in their annual sexiest women list, peaking at number two in 2005.

While still a honeymooner, Cheryl Tweedy still finds time for work and charity. Girls Aloud is currently in the process of recording their fourth studio album while Cheryl Cole also continues guest appearance in support of Comic Relief and other charitable fund raisers.

Even prior to her celebrity wedding to Cole, Cheryl was crowned “Sexiest Footballer’s Wife” last year by FHM ... somethings continue to get better with age - Happy Birthday Cheryl Cole!