Sophie Ellis-Bextor, a British singer and songwriter, rose to notoriety in the late 1990s and is now one of the most well-known vocalists in the world.
The British beauty has had a brilliant career spanning decades, with 14 Top 40 singles, one of which reached the top of the charts.
The model and her husband and five sons are currently residing in their ultra-cool West London home.
Aside from her music career, the Murder on the Dance Floor singer has appeared in a number of TV shows and was an unexpected ray of hope throughout the pandemic.
The Daily Star has delved into Sophie Ellis-life Bextor’s ahead of her guest appearance on Neighbours.
Early life
The Queen of “sophisticated pop” was born in 1979 and grew up in a celebrity family, so she was well-versed in the industry from an early age.
She knew she wanted to be a singer since she was a teenager, and she began her professional music career in 1996, at the age of 17.
As the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Theaudience, he achieved brief success, with two of their singles reaching the UK singles chart’s Top 40.
However, the band was dropped after their debut album in 1999, forcing Sophie to seek her own fame.
Music career
Sophie rose to prominence in 2000 after collaborating on the tune Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) with electronic music artist DJ Spiller.
The song was a massive hit, reaching number one on singles charts all over the world and famously outperforming Victoria Beckham’s single.
Many people consider it to be Sophie’s first big hit.
It was the centrepiece of her solo debut album, Read My Lips, which was released in 2001 and catapulted her career forward.
That year, the singer released songs including Take Me Home, a pop track, as well as another chart topping, Murder on the Dancefloor, a disco tune that was a major hit across Europe.
The singer’s career hasn’t slowed down, and she already has six albums to her credit, with over 1.5 million copies sold globally.
Finding Love
Sophie met and later fell in love with her bass player, Richard Jones, while touring her first album in 2002.
Richard was a founding member of The Feeling, a rock band whose biggest hit was Fill My Little World.
The now 42-year-old earlier stated that they had “immediate chemistry” when discussing their relationship.
Sophie found out she was pregnant after only six weeks of dating and gave birth to her first son, Sonny, in 2004.
The pair married in 2005 in Italy, and 17 years later, they appear to be more in love than ever.
Sonny, 17, Kit, 12, Ray, 9, Jesse, 5, and Mickey, 2, are the musical duo’s five sons, who live with them in London.
Their children are usually kept out of the spotlight, however they were spotted at Sophie’s Lockdown Kitchen Disco in 2020.
Baring all
Sophie stated that during her 2013 Strictly Come Dancing stint, she wasn’t beyond stripping down to her underwear in order to win the Glitterball.
At the moment, the celebrity stated that she was considering following in the footsteps of 2012 champion Louis Smith, who memorably exposed his torso on the BBC dance competition.
Sophie exclaimed, ” “I’m going to remove my top. But, by golly, I can’t compete with Louis.”
However, the show had an unanticipated impact on Sophie’s marriage to Richard, as she detailed in her novel Spinning Plates.
Richard “became abnormally demanding on knowing where I was at all times,” she said, adding, “If I didn’t respond to a text, he’d spiral.”
Sophie penned: “When I was rehearsing, he’d message me all day, especially interested in knowing my itinerary.
“When I came home, we’d argue about how preoccupied I was and whether I’d make it through the week; he just felt like I was slipping into a new existence that left our family behind.
“I had no such desire, but I was too exhausted at the end of the day to provide the consolation he required; I believe the only true reassurance would come when the show ended.”
The Kitchen Disco
Sophie became an odd beacon of hope for many people around the world during the global pandemic.
She held “kitchen discos” every Friday night, which were performances in her kitchen that she live-streamed on Instagram.
She became the perfect distraction from the fear and worry that swept through households during lockdown, as she wanted to take people’s minds off the news.
She put on a magnificently wild show while singing out her greatest hits, some of which had pandemic-appropriate lyrics added to them.
Her bizarre kitchen discos were an instant popularity, with her husband and five sons making several unexpected appearances.
Sophie’s second greatest hits compilation, Songs from the Kitchen Disco, was published in November 2020 and debuted in the UK Album Chart at number ten.
Sophie’s Kitchen Disco, which began as a method of virtual escapism, has now been brought to life, and she is currently touring across the country.
TV appearances
Sophie competed in series 11 of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.
The Get Over It singer finished fourth overall with Brendan Cole, but she freely admitted that her marriage suffered as a result of her participation in the show.
“We never doubted our love for each other, but I think Richard worried that I just wouldn’t want our life again,” she had previously stated about her marriage at the time. But, of course, I did, because my family means the world to me.”
Despite the fact that it had a significant impact on her personal life, she confesses that competing was “one of my favourite things I’ve ever done.”
Sophie donned armour instead of dancing gowns as she participated as an extra in HBO’s Game of Thrones in 2019.
She also debuted in season two of The Masked Singer, but despite her best efforts to hide her distinctive voice, she was swiftly detected.
Sophie will appear in a cameo role on Neighbours in October 2021, when the show airs a special storyline in London.
As Harlow strives to discover a family mystery regarding her mother, Prue, played by Denise Van Outen, the soap is headed overseas.
Sophie remarked of joining the cast, “Neighbours was a significant part of my school days.” We all watched it, enjoyed it, and chatted about it afterwards. It’s great to finally be able to say I was there!”
