Kerry Katona

Kerry Katona (born 6 September 1980) is an English television personality and former singer. She was an original member of the pop girl group Atomic Kitten between 1998 and 2001, leaving as the group's success peaked. Katona has appeared on various reality television shows, including I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here (2004), Celebrity Big Brother (2011), Dancing on Ice (2011), and Celebs on the Farm (2021), as well as her own documentary series about her life on MTV UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Katona was born on 6 September 1980 in Warrington, Cheshire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Better citation needed Katona's maternal grandfather is a Hungarian who fled Budapest to London during the Second World War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a child she was placed in care and brought up by four sets of foster parents and attended eight different schools.<ref name="telegraph">Telegraph.co.uk "Ghost stories". 3 September 2006, p. 6</ref> She left school aged 16 and became a lap dancer, touring Europe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She posed topless for Page 3 in The Sun at the age of 17 and posed for the men's publication Zoo.<ref name="Digital Spy">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Zoo 2">Template:Cite web</ref> She also worked as a glamour model, appearing in publications like New!,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Now,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Star.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1998–2001: Atomic Kitten

In 1998, Katona auditioned for a new girl group created by OMD frontman Andy McCluskey and was chosen, along with Liz McClarnon and Heidi Range – replaced by Natasha Hamilton in 1999. The group became Atomic Kitten and their debut single, "Right Now", was released on 29 November 1999, reaching number 10 in the UK.<ref name=uk>Template:Cite web</ref> Following this initial success, the group released three more singles that failed to reach the top 5 and a debut album that peaked at number 29.<ref name=uk/> Atomic Kitten's record label, Innocent Records, was considering dropping them because of their limited success, but were persuaded to allow the group to release "Whole Again" on 29 January 2001.<ref>BBC News: Atomic Kitten's perfect year. News.bbc.co.uk, Retrieved 29 July 2006</ref> Katona shot the music video, but left the group two days before release because of an unexpected pregnancy and conflicts with the other girls.<ref>BBC News: McFadden and Katona tie knot. News.bbc.co.uk, Retrieved 30 July 2006</ref>

She was quickly replaced by former Precious singer Jenny Frost and their debut album was re-released with the new vocalist.<ref name=gersing/> With Frost, "Whole Again" reached number one in 18 other countries,<ref name=gersing>Template:Cite web</ref> and the group had four number one singles in the UK, two number one albums and estimated sales of 10 million records.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2002–2012: Reality shows

In 2002, Katona presented the ITV's dating show ElimiDate and appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.<ref name="blanketyblank">Template:Cite episode</ref> In 2004, she won the third series of the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She also appeared as judge on the RTÉ talent show You're a Star. In 2005 Katona starred her own reality show, My Fair Kerry, on ITV.<ref>"Showbands" IMDB. Retrieved 17 May 2009</ref> From 2007 to 2010, she starred in five more reality shows on MTV UK about her life, rehab and bipolar disorder: Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love (2007), Kerry Katona: Whole Again (2008), Kerry Katona: What's The Problem? (2009), Kerry Katona: Coming Clean (2010) and Kerry Katona: The Next Chapter (2010).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, she also attempted to become a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother 7 but she failed the required psychological tests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011 she was a contestant on Dancing on Ice Series 6 and Celebrity Big Brother 8, finishing in second place.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2013–present: Atomic Kitten return and new reality shows

In 2013, Katona reunited with Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton to reform Atomic Kitten for the reality show The Big Reunion, along with five other pop groups of their time – 911, Honeyz, B*Witched, Five and Liberty X.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the show, they officially reunited and toured for four years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, Katona left the group again when she got drunk and hit Hamilton after a performance in Australia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, Katona appeared in the sixth series of E4 reality series Celebs Go Dating.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

In 2021, Katona starred in some more reality shows, including Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Fame in the Family, Celeb Cooking School and Celebs on the Farm, which she won.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2022, she became co-host of the Wheel of Misfortune podcast alongside comedian Alison Spittle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

From 2002 to 2004, Katona was married to singer Brian McFadden and they had two daughters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, she started dating taxi driver Mark Croft, whom she married on 14 February 2007 and had two children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In her autobiography, Still Standing, Katona said she met Croft when he was supplying cocaine to her mother.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They divorced in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 14 September 2014, Katona married former rugby league player George Kay and had her fifth child.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 7 October 2015, Katona announced their separation after he allegedly assaulted her at their home in Crowborough and was subsequently arrested by police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kay died on 5 July 2019 after an overdose.<ref name="gkdead">Template:Cite web</ref> Despite not living in the United States, Katona endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 US Presidential Election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health and drugs abuse

Since 2004, Katona has been in rehab many times for cocaine and alcohol abuse, according to her autobiography, Still Standing.<ref name="gkdead"/> In 2009, Iceland Foods and Asda supermarkets broke a long-standing €290,000 advertising campaigns deal with Katona after photographs appeared in the tabloids, allegedly showing her taking cocaine in a bathroom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2024, Katona publicly discussed undergoing reconstructive surgery to repair a nasal septum perforation and collapse caused by years of cocaine use, with cartilage from her rib used to rebuild her nose.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Like her mother Sue, Katona was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 19 July 2007, Katona was admitted to the Priory Hospital with a mental health crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Katona also has dyslexia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Katona is a patron of The Shannon Bradshaw Trust, a Warrington-based charity which helps children with life-threatening conditions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legal issues

On 15 July 2007, Katona, Croft, and their infant daughter Heidi were held hostage, when three men forcibly entered their home in Wilmslow, one of them holding Katona at knife-point while the others forced Croft to show them where valuables were kept.<ref>Katona held captive by armed gang. BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2007.</ref> Nobody was physically harmed, but the men left with a blue BMW and other valuables with an estimated total value between £100,000 and £150,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 21 August 2008, Katona was declared bankrupt at the High Court in London after failing to pay the final £82,000 of a £417,000 tax bill.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> On 2 July 2013, Katona filed for bankruptcy again at County Court in Wigan.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

On 8 May 2019, Brighton Magistrates' Court ordered Katona to pay a £500 fine after the school attendance rate of one of her children had fallen below 50% in 2018, but her solicitor argued that Katona did not have childcare and had to take the child to work with her.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	ElimiDate	Presenter
	You're a Star	Judge
2004	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	Contestant; winner	Series 3
2005	My Fair Kerry	Herself	ITV's reality show
2007	Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love		MTV UK's reality show
2008	Kerry Katona: Whole Again
2009	Kerry Katona: What's The Problem?
2010	Kerry Katona: Coming Clean
	Kerry Katona: The Next Chapter
2011	Dancing on Ice	Contestant	Series 6
	Celebrity Big Brother		Series 8
2013	The Big Reunion	Herself
2019	Celebs Go Dating	Contestant	Series 6
2021	Celebs on the Farm		Series 3
	Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins		Series 3
2022	Fame in the Family
	Celeb Cooking School
2023	The Big Celebrity Detox		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Kerry Katona infamous This Morning Interview
• Template:IMDb name
• Kerry Katona's biography at Random House Template:Webarchive
• Kerry Katona's biography at Biogs