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Cheryl Cole

Cheryl Ann Cole (née Tweedy; born 30 June 1983) is an English singer, and member of the band Girls Aloud. Cole is also a judge on the British reality TV show The X Factor since 2008. She is the wife of Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole. As part of Girls Aloud and as a featuring artist, Cheryl has been involved in 19 UK Top Ten singles.

Career

Early career

Cole was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. She is one of five children, with three brothers, Andrew, Garry and Joseph, and a sister Gillian.

Interested in dancing from an early age, Cole joined the Royal Ballet's summer school at the age of nine. She sang, modelled and appeared in recitals and on some television shows.

As well as dancing, she won many modelling competitions, including Boots Group's bonniest baby, Mothercare Happy Faces Portrait competition, Best Looking Girl of Newcastle, The Evening Chronicle 'Little Miss & Mister' and Most Attractive Girl at the MetroCentre.

She appeared in two British Gas adverts, an SCS advert, and an Eldon Square Christmas advert with younger brother Garry.

Aged twelve Cole signed to a management agency, Aim Development, based in CVC Studios Clara Vale near Newcastle alongside other acts such as 3NM and Xscape, and performed on stage at the Metro Centre's MetroLand, which has recently been closed due to low costom.

Girls Aloud

She auditioned for "Popstars: The Rivals" in 2002, singing S Club 7's 'Have You Ever'. She was the first person to be chosen for the band.

Collaboration with will.i.am

During the Passions of Girls Aloud series, Cheryl auditioned as a street dancer to gain a part in the music video for will.i.am's single Heartbreaker. Cheryl won the part and was later asked to sing additional vocals on the track. The song was released in the UK on 5 May 2008, but had already entered the top ten on download sales and peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

The X Factor

On 10 June 2008, it was announced that Cole would be replacing Sharon Osbourne as a judge for the fifth series of The X Factor.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan Magazine on 9 August 2008, a week before the 2008 series of The X Factor aired on ITV1, Cole's fellow judge Dannii Minogue believed that she could bring a new side to the talent show, saying: "One week Cheryl was talking about urban music and telling Simon Cowell, 'This is what the show needs; this is where you’ve been going wrong.' “ Cheryl's performances on the show have been praised by many television critics , and her status as a sex symbol has reportedly attracted more men to the show. Cheryl will be mentoring the Girls category. She will mentor them at Cannes. .