Portal:Hampshire/Selected biography/12

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amanda Louise Holden (born February 16, 1971 in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire)is an English actress. She made her television debut as a contestant on the long-running ITV series, Blind Date, but she didn't get picked.

Amanda trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Her first television role was in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1994, but she is perhaps best known for playing Mia Bevan in the BAFTA Award nominated drama series Cutting It from 2002 to 2004.

She married television presenter Les Dennis in 1995, but separated from him following her affair with actor Neil Morrissey. These events made her a popular target for the British tabloid press. The couple were divorced on 18 November 2003.

Amanda Holden has appeared in several stage musicals, and in 2004 was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie but she didn't win. On 19 November 2004, she appeared on the BBC's Children in Need telethon singing Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". On that night also, she announced her engagement to record boss Chris Hughes. They are both massive Everton F.C fans.

Her most recent TV appearance was on the ITV1 drama, Wild at Heart, which aired its first series at the beginning of 2006. Series two was screened at the beginning of 2007.