Sophie Morgan
| Sophie Morgan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 February 1985 Crowborough, East Sussex, England |
| Residence | Hove, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Known for |
Beyond Boundaries Britain's Missing Top Model |
| Partner(s) | Tom |
| Parents |
|
| Website | |
| www.sophiemorgan.com | |
- For the author, see Sophie Morgan (author).
Sophie Morgan (born 1985) became a parapalegic as a result of an accident while driving in 2003 and uses a wheelchair. A former reality TV contestant, twenty-eight year old Sophie runs her own business.
Background
Morgan was born and raised near Crowborough, East Sussex. She comes from a wealthy family and attended Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland to study for her A levels, having been expelled from her previous school in England.[1] Her father, John, was a wine broker and her mother, Carol, was variously a nurse, gun dog trainer and air stewardess.[2]
In 2003, she crashed her car and was paralysed from the chest down.[2] She began a degree in fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2005,[3] which she was unable to complete due to health problems. Her ambition then was to become a Fashion model. She completed an Open University degree in English Literature, and is studying a Masters in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy at the Institute for Arts in Education and Therapy. She lives in Hove.[2]
Career
Reality TV Contestant
Morgan is best known as a Reality TV show contestant by being one of the few people to appear in two different Reality TV shows about disability. Carolyne Underwood, who appeared in 2010 in Dancing on Wheels and in 2012 on The Undateables (2012), is the other disabled woman who has appeared in two reality shows.
In 2005, 18 months after becoming a parapalegic, Morgan took part in the first series of BBC2’s series Beyond Boundaries[4] when she travelled through Nicaraguain jungles with ten other disabled people.[5] She was one of the three contestants who were unable to complete the expedition and did not appear in the final episodes of the series.
In 2008 she and 7 other disabled women were contestants on Britain's Missing Top Model.[3] where the prize was a fashion shoot for Marie Claire magazine.[6] Morgan was the runner-up to Kelly Knox and went on to model in a tracksuit for Stella McCartney in 2011.
Other disability-related work
Morgan designed the 'Mannequal', a symbolic fiberglass wheelchair for use by store mannequins to improve disability representation in retail.[7][8] She has also appeared in Horizon for BBC2,[9] presented for the The One Show for BBC1 and has reported for Channel 4 News as part of the No Go Britain series.[10] She has also assisted in promoting SEAT, a programme to help disabled youths learn to drive.[11][12]
In 2012, Morgan was one of the presenters for Channel 4 during the Paralympics,[3] where she presented the weather report each morning.[13] She wrote an article for the Sports section of The Independent about the Paralympics[14] that was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor.[15] In 2013, she presented a documentary about road crash victims on BBC3 entitled 'License to Kill'.
References
- ↑
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Williams, Sally (March 4, 2012). "Sophie Morgan: 'I feel more fulfilled since the accident’". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lauren La Rose (16 March 2010). "'Britain's Missing Top Model' star challenges discrimination, champions disabled". MSN Entertainment. The Canadian Press.
- ↑ BBC News. In Pictures: Beyond Boundaries
- ↑ Bolouri, Yvonne (June 25, 2008). "So brave ... and so beautiful". The Scottish Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ Keal, Graham (June 24, 2008). "Car crash shattered my body - but not my dream of modelling, says Scots TV hopeful". Scottish Daily Record. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Disability On Display" (subscription required). The Times. September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ Price, Cheryl (April 10, 2011). "Sophie Morgan's Mannequal: A Revolution in the Fashion Industry". Mobil Women. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Horizon: Fix Me". BBC. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ↑ Channel 4, No go Britain. "Paralympic preseneter nightmare". Channel 4. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ↑ "SEAT Puts Disabled Youngsters In The Driving Seat". 21 Oct 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ↑ "Disabled Youngsters in the Driving SEAT". 24 October 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ↑ Hallenga, Kristin (September 5, 2012). "I've been amazed by the Paralympians' stories". The Mirror. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ Morgan, Sophie (September 3, 2012). "The public's response has driven our athletes to even greater heights". The Independent. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ↑ McClanahan, Paige (September 9, 2012). "Paralympics set to leave lasting impression on London". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 10, 2012.