Paula Hamilton

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**Paula Hamilton**
Birthplace	England
Hair	Brunette
Eyes	Blue
Birthdate	23 January 1958
Measurements	34B - 24 - 34
Height	5'ft 8½"inches ( 1.74 m )

Paula Hamilton (born 23 January 1958) is an English fashion model, actress and recovered drug addict, famous for her appearance in the classic 1987 Mk II Volkswagen Golf advert "Changes"

Brought up in South Africa by her mother and an abusive stepfather, she was 11 when her grandmother told her that her real father was actually a family friend in County Durham. She met him once, but her mother later insisted he was not her father. It wasn't until Paula was 27 that her mother admitted she had been lying, but, by then, the man had been dead 13 years after being murdered with a pickaxe handle^[1].

After being discovered by photographer David Bailey, she became the main model of the Queen's couturier Sir Hardy Amies. Her successful modelling career was, however, hampered by her battles against alcohol, drugs and depression.

Hamilton reached the zenith of her modelling career at the age of 27, when she became a household name as the star of one of the most iconic television adverts of the 1980s, for the Volkswagen Golf - the popularity in the UK of the Mk II drew from the 1987 advert. "Changes" starred Hamilton, made up to give her a close resemblance to Diana, Princess of Wales. She is seen leaving her husband, posting her wedding ring back through the letterbox and ditching her mink coat, chucking the house keys at the cat, rejected the fur coat and pearl necklace - but kept the Mk II car keys. If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen ran the tagline. The advert spawned a new era in car advertising (Armstrong 1998 p15)^[2]

Tortured by addiction to drink and drugs in real life, Hamilton found her success was short lived and by 1988 she had quit modelling. Following a brief marriage in 1987 to cameraman Danny Mindel, her turbulent love life included an affair with former Tory party Treasurer Lord Ashcroft, who was (and remains) married to his second wife, Susie. Their romance began when the wealthy tycoon offered a $200 donation to Hamilton's elephant charity "Tusk Force", if she agreed to dance with him. Lord Ashcroft paid for her to attend an alcoholic rehabilitation centre in Florida after she was arrested for cracking a taxi windscreen, but their romance ended soon afterwards, with her claiming that he suffered from impotence.

A former Life Guards captain, Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, proposed to Ms Hamilton, but abandoned her two days later. She tried to hang herself from a chandelier but the chain broke - a later attempt involved trying to drown herself. Attempts to overcome her drink problem floundered and Hamilton moved to New Zealand, only to notch up a couple of drink-drive convictions, one of which involved her lying in the road in protest after three terrified hitchhikers snatched her car keys after she started to swig from a bottle of vodka while driving^[3].

In 2004, then living with her elderly mother in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, said: "My mother has sorted me out. She's put the brakes on the madness and I think I have got my drinking under control. It's a constant battle but I am determined to succeed."

In 2006, it was announced that Hamilton, at the age of 45, has been re-signed by the leading agency Models1, who hope to capitalise on the popularity of more mature models led by Twiggy and her successful advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer^[4]. She has also been signed up to become a mentor and judge on the second series of Britain's Next Top Model on Living TV, to be presented by Lisa Snowdon^[5]

[edit] Trivia

When refereing to herself, always uses the third party tense and refers to herself as "Polly"
Has been into and out of eleven different drug, alcohol and therapy treatment centres
Her favourite exclamation is "cool bananas"?
Turned up an hour late for a shoot in New York, covered in grime and oil. She said she'd been kidnapped the previous night by men who bundled her into a limo. She couldn't remember any more, but was sorry she was late
Paula's top tip: "On set, when you're sweating your absolute titties off, if you can ask for a glass of ice and put them between the pulses of your wrists, it will stop you from sweating in two minutes."^[6]