Mel B
Melanie Brown MBE aka Mel B is one of the world’s most iconic entertainers. One fifth of the most successful girl band ever, the Spice Girls, she went on to carve out a global career as a television entertainer, theatre performer, a movie actress and author of a best-selling autobiography, Brutally Honest.
Her career began as a teenager in the 90s with the pop phenomenon, Spice Girls. As the so-called ‘Scary Spice’ she became one of the most recognisable women in the world. The Spice Girls remain the most successful girl group of all time, selling 85 million records and creating the biggest British cultural impact around the globe since The Beatles. Together they created and spearheaded the Girl Power movement.
Since the band split in 2000, Melanie – who is a mother to three daughters, Phoenix, Angel and Madison – went on to carve a new career as a host of television shows. Consistently voted ‘most popular’ judge on shows from America’s Got Talent to The X Factor UK, she embraced a whole new generation to become one of the most recognised faces on television, fronting shows from Lip Sync UK, The X Factor in Britain and Australia, Dancing With The Stars in Australia, America’s Got Talent and Celebrity Juice.
As a born performer, she has also starred in string of movies including The Seat Filler. She has appeared in London’s West End and on Broadway in Rent and most recently as Roxie Hart in Chicago, winning massive acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
But in 2018 when her explosive book, Brutally Honest, was published, newly divorced Melanie was propelled from celebrity superstar to a serious advocate for anyone who had ever been abused.
She was made Patron of Women’s Aid in 2018 and in 2019 was invited by former British Prime Minister, Theresa May to help her work on a parliamentary bill designed to aid other victims. The same year, she was reunited with Geri Halliwell, Mel C and Emma Bunton to tour the UK with the Spice Girls, a triumphant return to the stage which became the biggest UK tour of the year.
Last year the girls marked their 25th anniversary as the Spice Girls and the 25th anniversary of their first massive hit, Wannabe.
Melanie now lives in her hometown of Leeds with her family and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for her services to survivors of domestic abuse in 2022.