Alexa Chung

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Alexa Chung
Born November 5, 1983 (age 24)
Hampshire, Britain
Nationality British
Education 3 A levels
Occupation TV presenter
Employers Channel 4

BBC
Home town London
Height 5'8"
Partner Alex Turner (musician)

Alexa Chung (born November 5, 1983) is a British TV presenter and former fashion model. She is the girlfriend of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

Contents

Early life

Alexa Chung was raised in Privett, Hampshire by her English mother (a housewife) and three-quarters Chinese father (a graphic designer). She is the youngest of four children and has two brothers and one sister. Her elder brother is DJ Dom Chung.[1]

She attended the local comprehensive school, Perins Community College, and later the sixth form Peter Symonds College, Winchester (1999-2001). She had been accepted by King’s College London to read English and by Chelsea College of Art and Design to do an art foundation course, with two 'A' grades (English and Art) and a 'B' (History) at A-level, before being scouted by a modelling agency.[2] [3]

Modelling

Chung was first scouted by an agency, Elite Model Management, while attending The Clothes Show at the age of 14, but nothing came of it. She was approached again, at Reading Festival, at the age of 16 and was taken on by the London-based Storm Model Management.[4]

She was a cover girl for teen magazines such as Elle Girl and CosmoGIRL! and appeared in adverts for products including Fanta, Sony Ericsson, Sunsilk and Tampax.[5] She also modelled for Urban Outfitters.[6] Chung later said, “I was willing to look like a bit of an idiot. I was never too precious about the faces I pulled. I did loads of teen magazines and rubbish high street campaigns.”[7]

She appeared in music videos for artists including The Streets, Westlife, Delta Goodrem, Reuben and Holly Valance.[8] She also starred as Jake in a scripted reality show called Shoot Me, broadcast on Fashion TV in 2005.[9] Chung herself admitted it was “really bad”.[10]

After four years, Chung quit modelling with the intention of beginning an art foundation or fashion journalism course[11], having become disillusioned. She had developed a “distorted body image”[12] and “low self-esteem” [13] through modelling. “It made me really unhappy.” She has since said that, “I’ve used up all that neurosis – there’s none left. I’d rather have a bigger brain than smaller bones.”[14]

In January 2008, Chung was announced as the face of Antipodium's Spring Summer 2008 collection, which is on sale at Liberty and Harvey Nichols.[15]

In May 2008, Chung was announced as the face of Oxfam's ethical fashion range, Revamped, sold exclusively at Westbourne Grove, West London. [16]

TV career

Chung first auditioned as a T4 presenter when she was 18 but “didn’t get anywhere because I was hideously Hampshire, going “Ya, ya”, and thinking I was really funny”.[17]

When the original Popworld presenters, Miquita Oliver and Simon Amstell left in 2006, Chung’s audition tape was reviewed and, in April 2006, she was offered the job of co-host, alongside former MTV presenter Alex Zane.[18] Popworld was known for its witty, irreverent and awkward style of interviews. An interview Chung conducted with Panic at the Disco, in particular, attracted attention. “I corrected singer Brendon Urie’s grammar halfway through and then it all went a bit cold. He got pi**ed off after that. The clip is on YouTube and about 10,000 American kids have left comments saying: ‘Oh my God, who does she think she is? I hate the English.’ Which is amusing.”[19] Other memorable moments include Chung asking Gwen Stefani whether her new "surprising" perfume would smell like bacon[20] and helping Paul McCartney compose a song about shoes.[21] The last show aired in July 2007, after Channel 4 decided not to recommission the programme.[22]

Chung and Zane also presented a weekly, internet-streamed radio show called Popworld Radio from September 2006 to May 2007, in conjunction with the TV programme. [23]

In April 2007, Chung starred in the ITV1 series Get a Grip, opposite comedian Ben Elton. The topical satirical show was scripted by Elton. Chung was unfazed by the move from music television to political satire, saying "He'll tell me about Margaret Thatcher and I'll hit him with some facts about Razorlight".[24] The show was panned by the critics.

In August 2007, Chung signed a year-long "golden handcuffs" deal with Channel 4, worth £100,000.[25] As part of this deal, she guest presented Big Brother’s Big Mouth, presented T4’s coverage of V Festival, T in the Park and T4 on the Beach and appeared as a panellist on quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats. She has also hosted a number of T4 Movie Specials, 4Music Specials, along with T4 Holiday Mornings.[26]

In September 2007, Chung began presenting Channel 4’s early morning music programme Freshly Squeezed, with alternating co-hosts Nick Grimshaw and Rick Edwards. The show airs on weekdays at 7am.

In December 2007, she was at number 18 in Broadcast's Hot 100 Talent list.[27]

In January 2008, Chung became one of four anchor T4 presenters, following the departure of June Sarpong.

Chung was the host of T4’s Vanity Lair, a ten-week reality show that aimed to explore contemporary notions of what being a beautiful person really means.[28]

She also presents BBC Three's The Wall, along with Rhys Thomas. The live show features comedy, sketches, chat and music performances and is aired on Tuesday nights at 11pm.[29]

Plans have been announced for an ethical fashion documentary as well as a primetime fashion news programme.

Chung has also hosted industry events including the Hair Magazine Awards 2007, Diesel U Music Awards 2007 and the Elle Style Awards 2008.

Columnist

Since October 2007, Chung writes a monthly column for British women’s magazine Company.[30]

"It Girl" Status

In 2007, Chung came to the attention of the fashion press for her laid-back, quirky style. As vogue.com noted, she “took prime position in most of 2007's Best Dressed lists.”[31] In 2008, she featured in the top ten of both Tatler and Glamour magazines' Best Dressed Lists. She has said of her style, “I either want to look like an excellently dressed boy or a kitten from the 1960s, like Françoise Hardy.”[32] Chung has also mentioned The Shirelles[33], Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithful[34], Jane Birkin and Julie Christie[35] as sources of style inspiration, as well as 1960s and 1970s films such as Doctor Zhivago (film), Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)[36], Annie Hall[37], Darling, Masculin, féminin and Blowup[38]. Chung has expressed bemusement regarding the widespread admiration of her style, saying, "It’s odd to have acquired this style icon tag, because everyone in Shoreditch dresses the same".[39]

Chung, according to the Sunday Times’ Style magazine, “is a must-have at any self-respecting fashionable party”[40] and socialises with many well-known faces including supermodel Agyness Deyn, Kelly Osbourne, Pixie and Peaches Geldof, Trash Pussies’ Fifi Brown, TV presenter Nick Grimshaw, musician Devonte Hynes, model Valentine Fillol-Cordier as well as indie bands such as The Like, Fields and The Kills. However, she has said the idea of lots of celebrity friends is "so cheesy". [41]

Hipster website thecobrasnake.com has featured candid photos of Chung on multiple occasions. She has praised the Cobrasnake's work, saying he takes "genuinely really well composed photos".[42]

Chung has dismissed the notion of being an It girl, saying “I mean, there’s not much to being an It girl. It’s really quite a depressing title to hold.” She has, however, conceded that, "It’s actually rather nice, because you are sent some pretty cool stuff"[43]

She has also expressed concerns of becoming overexposed, due to the increased media interest. "I don't want to shove my face down everyone's throat. Because I always got bored with reading Heat and Hello! seeing the same faces around. I don't want to be famous for going out...It's very difficult if you're in the middle of something to see it clearly and I don't have any idea of what it looks like from the outside or how I'm perceived...I'm sure there'll be some new whippersnapper coming up pretty soon, with a snappy new haircut, and wearing Marni, and vintage T-shirts".[44]

Sex Symbol

Chung appeared on the cover of men's magazine Arena in November 2006, along with three other up-and-coming stars. The magazine wondered, "Could she be the most beautiful girl in the world? Possibly. In fact, probably".[45]

In April 2007, Chung was number 64[46] in FHM's top 100 Sexiest Women list, as voted for by readers, after injecting "some much needed sauce" into T4's Popworld.[47] She was also nominated for the Sexiest Vegetarian 2007 Award.[48]

In the March 2008 issue of Loaded, an underwear shoot from Chung's modelling days was unearthed. In the accompanying article, Chung was described as "the lady the thinking chaps are going mad for".[49] In April 2008, Chung was number 63 in FHM's top 100 Sexiest Women list, as voted for by readers.

Relationships

While modelling, Chung met photographer, and singer with 80s pop group Blue Mercedes, David Titlow (born September 10, 1963), who is twenty years her senior. She dated him for 3 and a half years.[50] Titlow has photographed Chung for magazine spreads since their break-up.

In September 2006, Chung was spotted “snogging the Horrors singer Faris Badwan” at a London nightclub.[51] She interviewed his band, in their first television appearance, for Popworld. The irreverent interview, in which Chung appeared as the fictitious Katie Marshall and wondered whether the band would be "Hair today, gone tomorrow" , angered some Horrors fans.[52] Badwan defended Chung in a post on his band's message board, saying she was being "unfairly blamed". He accused the show's producer of editing together "the worst parts". He claimed that Chung had "specifically asked him not to stitch us up". "I am currently seeing Alexa. Why would she try to make me look stupid?"[53] This relationship ended in February/March 2007.

In late March/early April 2007, Chung began dating James Righton, vocalist and keyboard player with Klaxons.[54] In June 2007, Righton confirmed that the relationship had ended.[55] During an interview with the London Paper in February 2008, Righton said of the relationship, "We were busy doing other things and sometimes things don't work out. We still keep in touch and Alex (Turner) is a friend of mine and there's no problems at all. They're a really good couple."

Chung was then linked with Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins, whom she had interviewed on numerous occasions for both Popworld and a 4Music Special. In September 2006, she had illustrated the cover of a Lostprophets single, A Town Called Hypocrisy,[56] [57] but was keen to point out that out that it was not used "because I'm a celebrity or anything, they just liked it".[58] In June 2007, Watkins made an unannounced appearance on Big Brother's Big Mouth, which Chung was presenting.[59]

In early July 2007, The Sun newspaper reported that Chung had coupled up with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner at Scotland's T in the Park music festival.[60] The Sun’s report was backed up by the Times’ journalist Craig McLean who reported seeing Turner “sitting outside on a bench in the gloom, legs entwined with comely Channel 4 Popworld presenter Alexa Chung.”[61] The story was denied by Ian Watkins’ spokesperson, who told the Daily Mirror that his client and Chung had been seeing each other “for about a year”. A “good friend” told the tabloid that the pair had been “close for months”.[62] The spokesperson's comments caused confusion regarding the timeline of Chung's relationships, implying that she had been dating Watkins during her relationships with both Badwan and Righton.

In late August 2007, Chung split with Watkins.[63] Chung alluded to the rumours of infidelity at T in the Park when she said of her budding relationship with Turner, “It was awkward the way things came out – I didn’t want to offend or upset other people.”[64]

Chung was first pictured with Alex Turner in early October 2007, outside the Met Bar in London.[65] The couple have been photographed by paparazzi on numerous occasions since and their relationship is frequently gossiped about in British tabloids. In April 2008, it was reported that the couple are buying a house together in East London.[66]

Chung has also been romantically linked with model Jamie Dornan and actor Adam Brody, but she has dismissed these as rumours.[67]

Of her tendency to date musicians, Chung has said, "I do sometimes worry people think it's a cliché I'd date a rockstar - before that, I was a model and I dated a photographer, so maybe I just love clichés".[68]

Charity/Campaign Work

Chung has supported numerous charities including the Terrence Higgins Trust, World AIDS Day[69], Friends of the Earth's The Big Ask[70], Product Red[71] and Attitude is Everything[72]

In December 2007, Chung designed a condom tin for Company magazine to help "convince people to carry condoms".[73]

In January 2008, Chung designed a range of jewellery for Made Boutique, a Fair Trade organisation.[74]

Chung has been vocal about her vegetarianism. “I’ve been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember being able to say, “Mum, I genuinely can’t eat this.” [75] She does, however, wear leather. When questioned about this, Chung said,"I haven't eaten meat since I was 16. Living in the country, hanging out with lambs, then seeing them hanging in a stable... I suppose it makes sense to translate that into clothes, but it's harder to find ethical fashion. They need to make it more readily available."[76]

Plans for a BBC documentary about ethical fashion have been announced.

In May 2008, Chung was announced as the brand ambassador for Oxfam's ethical fashion boutiques[77]

Filmography

  • The Wall (2008- )
  • Freshly Squeezed (2007- )
  • Vanity Lair (2008)
  • T4 (2008- )
  • 4Music Special: Usher (2008)
  • T4 presents the NME Awards 2008 (2008)
  • V Festival '08 Preview (2008)
  • 4Music Special: Goldfrapp (2008)
  • National Treasure T4 Movie Special (2008)
  • T4 Holiday Mornings (2007/2008)
  • Big Brother's Big Mouth (2007)
  • 4Music Special: Lostprophets (2007)
  • Enchanted T4 Movie Special (2007)
  • Ratatouille T4 Movie Special (2007)
  • Fashion Rocks is Coming (2007)
  • V Festival coverage (2007)
  • T in the Park coverage (2007)
  • T4 on the Beach coverage (2007)
  • It's a Boy Girl Thing T4 Movie Special (2007)
  • Get a Grip (2007)
  • Popworld (2006-2007)
  • 4Music Special: Magic Numbers (2006)
  • Déjà Vu T4 Movie Special (2006)
  • The Devil Wears Prada T4 Movie Special (2006)
  • Rip Curl Festival coverage (2006)
  • Shoot Me (2005)

References

  1. ^ Evening Standard interview, part two
  2. ^ Former teacher gives the Guardian his impressions of her
  3. ^ Guardian interview
  4. ^ Evening Standard interview, part two
  5. ^ Fashion Model Online Directory
  6. ^ Urban Outfitters picture gallery
  7. ^ Evening Standard interview, part two
  8. ^ Company magazine interview, part two
  9. ^ Watch Shoot Me online
  10. ^ Popworld Big Ones interview
  11. ^ My life in style
  12. ^ The Times's "Small Screen Goddess" interview
  13. ^ Company magazine interview, part one
  14. ^ The Times's "Small Screen Goddess" interview
  15. ^ Behind the scenes at Antipodum shoot
  16. ^ Oxfam's ethical clothing range
  17. ^ Arena magazine interview
  18. ^ Company magazine interview, part two
  19. ^ Metro 60 seconds interview
  20. ^ Gwen Stefani interview on Popworld
  21. ^ Paul McCartney interview on Popworld
  22. ^ Channel 4 axes Popworld
  23. ^ Popworld radio - listen online
  24. ^ Heat magazine interview
  25. ^ Alexa's £100k of T4 cuff love
  26. ^ Indepenent - Alexa's talent agency
  27. ^ Broadcast Hot 100 List
  28. ^ Vanity Lair's T4 homepage
  29. ^ The Wall's press release
  30. ^ Scans from Company column
  31. ^ Vogue news item on Chung
  32. ^ The Times's "Small Screen Goddess" interview
  33. ^ Tatler Best Dressed piece
  34. ^ Dare magazine interview
  35. ^ Stella magazine interview
  36. ^ Harper's Bazaar style interview
  37. ^ Dare magazine interview
  38. ^ My life in style
  39. ^ My life in style
  40. ^ The Times's "Small Screen Goddess" interview
  41. ^ TV Hits interview
  42. ^ Independent photography interview
  43. ^ My life in style
  44. ^ Guardian interview
  45. ^ Arena magazine interview
  46. ^ FHM list
  47. ^ FHM blurb
  48. ^ Sexiest Vegetarian shortlist
  49. ^ Loaded editor's opinion piece
  50. ^ Evening Standard interview, part one
  51. ^ The Daily Mirror's Surveillance column
  52. ^ Horrors interview on Popworld
  53. ^ Faris Badwan's message board post
  54. ^ Sunday Mirror sighting at Coachella
  55. ^ Klaxons interview with the Scotsman
  56. ^ Chung's illustration for Lostprophets CD1
  57. ^ Chung's illustration for Lostprophets CD2
  58. ^ InStyle interview
  59. ^ Watkins appearing on BBBM
  60. ^ Monkey Alex goes ape for Alexa
  61. ^ The Times- Hey, hey it's the Arctic Monkeys
  62. ^ The Daily Mirror-Alexa's long lost lover
  63. ^ The Daily Mirror - Will Chung chuck her man
  64. ^ Company magazine interview, part three
  65. ^ The Sun-Arctic Monkey pulls T4 stunner
  66. ^ InstyleUK interview
  67. ^ Company magazine interview, page three
  68. ^ Company magazine interview, page three
  69. ^ World Aids Day article
  70. ^ The Big Ask video
  71. ^ Product Red video with Alexa
  72. ^ Alexa djs for Attitude is Everything.
  73. ^ Company's condom campaign
  74. ^ Fair Trade jewellery
  75. ^ Evening Standard interview, part two
  76. ^ Alexa speaks to the Guardian about ethical fashion
  77. ^ Oxfam's upmarket ethical fashion boutiques

External links