Who is Cheryl Cole?

Even if you don't live in the UK, you may have heard whispers of the name Cheryl Cole. Cheryl Cole is a well known singer and model, a very good friend of Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am and is also rumoured to be dating "Dancing With the Stars" dancer Derek Hough. Most recently though, she has been confirmed as one of the judges on the US version of the "X Factor". Before she hits television screens in America, you may want to find out a little bit more about her. So...who is Cheryl Cole?

Cheryl Cole was born Cheryl Ann Tweedy in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1983. She shot to fame in 2002 when she entered UK television talent show "Popstars: The Rivals". The premise of the show was to put together two bands - a boy band and a girl band -- and pit the two against each to discover which would be the first to gain a UK number one single. Cheryl Cole first auditioned singing S Club 7's hit "Have You Ever", impressing the likes of Pete Waterman and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. As she got through to the live shows, it was clear Cheryl was a firm favourite with the public and she eventually took her place in the winning girl group named Girls Aloud.

With Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole began her rise to superstardom. Together, the group released more than twenty singles and five albums before branching off and launching individual careers in 2009. Cheryl Cole's first solo album was released in October that year, entitled "3 Words". It reached number one in the UK album charts and she released three singles from it, all of which landed in the top five of the singles charts. In 2009, Cheryl also became the face of L'Oreal, advertising L'Oreal Elvive shampoo on TV. Cole's second album "Messy Little Raindrops" was released in late 2010 and also reached number one in the album charts.

It was while Cheryl was a member of Girls Aloud that she met footballer Ashley Cole. They began dating in 2004 and married in 2006. It seemed like Cheryl and Ashley Cole were going to be the perfect fairytale couple, until their happiness was shattered in 2008 by allegations that Ashley has cheated on her. Although it seemed as if the pair would split, they chose to work through their problems and tried to get their marriage back on track. Unfortunately for Cheryl, further allegations of her husband's infidelity hit the newspapers in February 2010 and shortly after, she announced that the marriage was over.

As if the very public breakdown of her marriage weren't enough for Cheryl Cole to deal with, 2010 got worse for her after a trip to Tanzania with friend and rumoured boyfriend, Derek Hough. Cole fell ill when she returned home but initially blamed it on uncharacteristic drinking at her birthday celebrations and her hectic schedule. It wasn't until she collapsed at a photo shoot that she realised something was very wrong, and Hough insisted that she have a blood test. His quick thinking may have saved her life. It turned out that she had contracted a serious strain of malaria while on holiday. As things were, Cole's internal organs had already begun to fail and she was very close to losing her life. Under the care of medical experts though, she began to pull through and regain her strength.

Cheryl and the "X Factor"

Prior to some of her personal problems, Cheryl Cole began working alongside Simon Cowell on the "X Factor". She was brought in as a judge on the talent show to replace Sharon Osborne and was quickly accepted into the hearts of the nation for her compassion, sensitivity and witty banter with Cowell. As a mentor on the X Factor, her acts won the competition for two years in a row, proving that she definitely has an eye for talent. Cole's third year on the "X Factor" wasn't quite a successful and added to her misery in 2010. After missing much of the audition process while she was in hospital with malaria, she returned to the show just in time to decide which people in her category would make it through to the live shows. Cole caused outrage when she rejected one of the public's favourites in favour of a girl who messed up her audition, and had done so on other occasions too. The love for Britain's sweetheart rapidly diminished and in order to keep herself strong, she became rather more serious and not quite as sweet as in previous years. Public opinions of Cheryl Cole greatly differ now, but it should be kept in mind that last year was rough on her and perhaps that softer side of her will come back to the forefront when the "X Factor" begins again.

As a judge in the US, Simon Cowell believes Cheryl will be an instant hit. With her stunning beauty, excellent eye for talent and cheeky sense of humour she could very quickly charm her way to being the new favourite Brit in America. Who knows, with just a little bit of luck and the guidance of Mr Cowell, this could be Cheryl Cole's best year yet!

Sources:

http://www.cheryltweedy.org/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1284632/bio