| Kirsty Bertarelli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kirsty Roper 30 June 1971 Staffordshire, England, UK |
| Residence | Switzerland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Song writer Singer |
| Known for | Miss UK, 1988 "Black Coffee" (All Saints song) |
| Spouse | Ernesto Bertarelli (m. 2000–present) |
| Children | 3 |
Kirsty Bertarelli (born Kirsty Roper) is a song writer, former Miss UK and wife of Ernesto Bertarelli, a Swiss billionaire who was the owner of biotech giant Serono until 2007 and winner of the America's Cup in 2003 and 2007 with his yachting syndicate Alinghi.
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2010 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, she and her husband were placed 4th with an estimated fortune of £5,950million.[1]
Born in England, Bertarelli spent her childhood in Staffordshire. Her family ran one of the world’s major manufacturers of ceramic products, Churchill China.
She was crowned Miss UK in 1988, at 17, and then moved to London, where she began to write music and was signed on to Warner Records.
After meeting her future husband she co-wrote "Black Coffee". The song was recorded by the All Saints band and became a worldwide hit. It was number one in the UK chart and featured in international charts for 20 weeks.
Kirsty married Ernesto Bertarelli in 2000. The couple and their three children live in Switzerland, where she supports several charities, notably Smiling Children Foundation and the Fondation Bertarelli. She has also created a line of clothing for women under the Alinghi brand and has designed a collection of jewelry for Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
Always interested and involved in music, Bertarelli has always continued to write songs. She recorded some of her songs for the UK-Swiss charity Smiling Children Foundation[2] and Le Matin described her as having a "golden voice".[3]
Universal Music liked the songs and decided to sign her. The first single "Don’t Say" was released digitally through online stores on 9 December 2009.[4] Her debut album "Elusive" was published on 15 January 2010, entering the Swiss charts in the 20th position.
Throughout 2010, Bertarelli published two more singles in Switzerland ("Elusive" and "More than anything"). She also had a few successful live performances, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and opening acts for Simply Red in Edinburgh[5] and Zurich.[6]
In 2011 a remix of her conservation song "Green" was chosen by the WWF to be their anthem to mark the Fund's 50th year of conservation at their annual Panda Ball.[7] Bertarelli donated all proceeds from the single to WWF to support their ongoing conservation projects around the world. [8]
Bertarelli is also very active in her support to different charity organisations and events. She is involved in the philanthropic projects of the Bertarelli Foundation, which have recently included a research Centre for Neuroprosthetics at the EPFL in Lausanne, a partnership with the British government for the Marine Reserve in Chagos, a joint research and education programme in neuroscience between Harvard Medical School and EPFL, the Swiss Sailing Grants in partnership with the Swiss Sailing Federation; and the Henna Pre-School in South Africa.