Coleen McLoughlin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coleen McLoughlin (born 3 April 1986 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England) is the fiancée of Manchester United F.C. and England football star, Wayne Rooney. The media interest in Rooney has enabled Coleen to become a celebrity in her own right. She regularly appears in the English tabloids amidst accusations of doing nothing but shopping all day and frequently holidaying in sunny locations. She is therefore viewed by some as a quintessential "footballer's wife". She was also one of the more prominent WAGs during the 2006 World Cup.
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[edit] Early life
McLoughlin was born to Tony, who was a bricklayer and ran a boxing club, and Colette, who was a nursery nurse. She is one of four children. McLoughlin met Wayne Rooney when she was 12 and when they were living in the Liverpool suburb of Croxteth. His mother, Jeanette, worked as a part-time cleaner at St John Bosco, her Roman Catholic school.
Rooney, who had signed as an apprentice at Everton at the age of nine, was only interested in football, and McLoughlin, he acknowledged, was “a goody who did her homework”. Yet they spent hours conversing on the street corner and eventually began to see each other. “I desperately wanted to kiss her but I didn’t know how,” Rooney recalled in Sue Evison’s biography England’s Hero: Wayne Rooney. His opportunity arose when the chain came off her bike and, stopping to help, he asked her for a date. They walked behind a church. “I was lost for words,” Rooney said. “Coleen did most of the talking — I think she was shocked at what a fantastic kisser I was.”
Rooney famously took McLoughlin to the cinema to see Austin Powers 2 on their first date.
McLoughlin left school with 10 GCSEs, including an A* for Performing Arts. She has long harboured dreams of becoming an actress, having starred in high school productions of Bugsy Malone and Grease.
[edit] Life with Wayne
Wayne proposed to McLoughlin on the forecourt of a BP garage when she was 17 with a £46,500 diamond engagment ring.
Later that year she left school and landed a small part in Hollyoaks, the Merseyside television soap. “I was getting offered acting parts and I couldn’t take them because of my school work,” she said. The dream couple, dubbed Wayleen, moved into a new £1.3m mansion in nearby Formby. They now live in a £3.5 million mansion in Cheshire complete with 7 plasma televisions and a £30,000 state-of-the-art security system. [citation needed]
[edit] Charity work
In 2004 McLoughlin officially launched the countdown to the national Jeans for Genes Day in celebration of the appeal's 10th birthday. She said: "I can't wait to wear my jeans on Friday. My little sister Rosie has Rett syndrome, so I know how important research is. Please join in!"
McLoughlin's sister Rosie (aged seven) suffers from the genetic condition Rett Syndrome. The Rett Syndrome Association is one of the benefiting charities of Jeans for Genes Day 2005.[1]
[edit] Media work
McLoughlin has her own column in the celebrity magazine Closer entitled "Welcome to My World".[2] Since her decision to write the column it has boosted the magazine sales. She has decided to take this job up as it combines her passions of fashion and journalism.
McLoughlin also tried her hand at presenting, when in May 2006, she assisted Sir Trevor McDonald on his show Tonight with Trevor McDonald in a programme about genetic Rett syndrome.
She also won the Ariel high street fashion award (as voted for by the public) for 'Best Dressed Female', turning up to the event in a Topshop dress. She also presented awards at the Elle Style awards, Television awards and also presented an award to Best Dressed Female at Aintree in which she handed out the prizes, of which included a shopping bag from McLoughlin's favourite store, Liverpool boutique Cricket.
In May 2006, McLoughlin became the face of the LG Chocolate Slider phone in the UK. [3]
During the same month, she signed a £1 million deal with Harpercollins to produce a fashion and lifestyle book. [4]
McLoughlin also has an exercise DVD on sale in the UK, entitled Coleen McLoughlin's Brand New Body Workout, which became a bestseller.[5]
She was also paid £3 million to front the George at Asda campaign.[citation needed]
Coleen's autobiography, Welcome to my World, is due to be released next year.
[edit] Shopping Habits
A famed shopaholic, McLoughlin's keen eye for fashion and her colourful, eye-catching ensembles have marked her out as a style icon in some quarters, though in other circles she is seen as a fashion victim. Coleen caused some controversy by being chosen to appear on the front of British Vogue. Some people felt that she was unworthy of such celebrity.[6] Editor Alexandra Shulman defended the magazine's decision, calling McLoughlin "beautiful" and praising her "brilliant sense of style". One of McLoughlin's most vocal detractors has been fellow Liverpudlian Paul O'Grady, who has denounced her as being - unlike anyone else in England or the States - famous for doing nothing.
McLoughlin was interviewed by fellow 'footballer's wife' Louise Redknapp in the first ever edition of Icon, a glossy magazine aimed at professional footballers.
