Leilani Dowding
Leilani Dowding | |
---|---|
Born |
[1] Bournemouth, Dorset, England | 30 January 1980
Nationality | British |
Ethnicity | English-Filipina |
Alma mater | Royal Holloway, University of London |
Occupation | Glamour model |
Years active | 1998–present |
Relatives |
Chris Dowding (father) Zena Dowding (mother) Melanie Dowding (sister) |
Modeling information | |
Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
Weight | 112 lb (51 kg) |
Hair color | Brown |
Eye color | Brown |
Website | |
www |
Leilani Dowding (born 30 January 1980)[1] is an English former Page 3 girl, glamour model, television celebrity, and the UK representative at Miss Universe 1998.
Early life
Dowding grew up in Bournemouth, and has a younger sister Melanie. They were brought up Roman Catholic by their Filipina mother Zena, and British father Chris.[1] Leilani was named for her mother's cousin and her name literally means "heavenly flower".[2]
Dowding and her sister attended St Peter's School in Bournemouth. She did well in school, earning eleven GCSEs and three A-levels.[1] She studied for an economics degree at Royal Holloway, University of London, in Surrey, with the intention of becoming a city trader.[3] The then eighteen-year-old entered and won the 1998 Miss Great Britain competition.[4] In Hawaii later that year she became the first woman of Asian descent to represent Britain in the Miss Universe pageant.[1]
Career
After her success in beauty pageants, Dowding dropped out of university to pursue a full-time modelling career.[1] Although she had not originally considered topless modelling, she started appearing as a Page 3 girl in The Sun in 1999.[1] Her younger sister Melanie ("Mel") Dowding also had a brief career as a model.
In 2003 she was rated #89 on the FHM Sexiest Women in World list.[5]
Dowding has been a guest on various British television shows, modelling on the Big Breakfast and This Morning, and appearing on Faking It Celebrity Wrestling and Celebrity Fear Factor.[6] She has also enjoyed a season in pantomime as Tiger Lilly in Peter Pan.[1]
Dowding appeared on a charity Page 3 episode of The Weakest Link where she lost out in the final round to Jakki Degg. Dowding was competing on behalf of the RSPCA and breast cancer charities.[7] She joked before the show: "I look forward to using my brain for the first time in three years."[8]
Dowding has competed in celebrity poker tournaments and done promotional work for Ladbrokes.[1][9][10]
She also appears in the American TV Reality Show Tough Love Miami, in which she deals with her own superficiality in order to find a suitable mate.
She has travelled to Bosnia, Kosovo. Iraq and Cyprus on morale-boosting trips for British troops abroad.[1]
She appeared in the December 2011 edition of US Maxim [11]
Dowding has her own clothing line, the Leiluna Collection.
Personal life
Dowding has dated former West Ham United defender Anwar Uddin.[12][13][14] been engaged to former Wimbledon and Northern Ireland defender Mark Williams and was engaged to former Middlesbrough attacker Jérémie Aliadière.[3][15] She had been briefly married to restaurateur Richard Palmer - ex-husband of Raquel Welch [16][17]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Biography". Leilani Dowding's Official Site. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ↑ "Leilani Dowding". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011.
Leilani was my mum's cousin's name, it means heavenly flower
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 John Aizlewood (15 January 2006). "The top 10 footballers' Page 3 playmates". The Times (London: News International). Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ↑ "Student Leylani Dowding carries off the Miss Great Britain Universe honours". BBC News. 12 March 1998. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ↑ The Sexiest Women In The World 2003 | Girls. FHM.com. Retrieved on 4 May 2012.
- ↑ Leilani Dowding at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ Beauty and the beast (From Dorset Echo). Archive.dorsetecho.co.uk (27 April 2002). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.
- ↑ Giovanni Iozzi (13 July 2002). "Jakki has the most up top!". The Sun. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ↑ Rajesh Modha Tops off a Million Dollar Night! | PokerNews. Uk.pokernews.com (16 December 2006). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.
- ↑ Ladbrokes Poker Vegas Dream Packages. Pokerplayer.co.uk (30 March 2009). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.
- ↑ Tweet. "Leilani Dowding". Maxim date=4 November 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ "Leilani sings for England". Dorset: Dorset Echo. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ↑ "Leilani brings on a sub". The Sun. 2002. Retrieved 18 May 1013.
- ↑ "Bikini babe Leilani Dowding back in the arms of Tough Love flame George French on the beach in Miami". Mail Online. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ↑ Meet The Cast Of Tough Love: Miami. Blog.vh1.com (7 September 2011). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.
- ↑ Russell, Stacey (14 October 2011). "Leilani Dowding Talks Tough Love Miami, Divorce, and Show Drama". Blogs.miaminewtimes.com. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ Julie Moult (22 July 2013). "Even her poor dog looks embarrassed as Leilani Dowding draws attention to herself with peculiar paddleboard yoga | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leilani Dowding. |
- Official website
- Leilani Dowding at the Internet Movie Database
- Leilani Dowding on Twitter
- Leilani Dowding on Myspace