Ashley Roberts

Ashley Roberts
Roberts in 2005
Born	Ashley Allyn Roberts (1981-09-14) September 14, 1981 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Residence	London, England
Occupation	Singer songwriter dancer choreographer actress model presenter television personality
Years active	2001–present
Television	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Dancing on Ice Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway The Jump
Musical career
Genres	Pop electropop R&B
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	A&M Interscope Metropolis London Music Limited Cherry Red
Associated acts	The Pussycat Dolls

Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981)^[1] is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, model, presenter, and television personality, best known as a former member of the modern burlesque group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls. She departed from the band in February 2010, in order to pursue a solo singing and acting career, but also due to the overemphasis on the band's main singer, Nicole Scherzinger.

Roberts is also well known in the United Kingdom, due to her participation in reality shows such as I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2012 and The Jump in 2015. She was a judge for two seasons of Dancing on Ice. Roberts has also co-hosted Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway since it was revived in 2013 until 2016.^[2]

Life and career

1981–2002: Early life and career beginnings

Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona and attended Shadow Mountain High School. She is of English descent. She began dancing at the age of three and singing at eight. Roberts' father was a drummer for the Mamas & the Papas, later becoming an auto dealer and her mother was a Pilates instructor. They both inspired her to be a part of the entertainment industry.

Roberts' hair was brunette during her teenage years, as shown in Aaron Carter's "Oh Aaron" and "Not Too Young, Not Too Old" music videos.^[3]

During high school summer breaks, Roberts traveled to California to study modern dance. After high school, at 19 years old, she moved permanently to Los Angeles. Roberts has appeared in television commercials and music videos such as Counting Crows "Accidentally in Love", Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up", Jane's Addiction's "True Nature", Aaron Carter's "Oh Aaron" and "Not Too Young, Not Too Old" and Pink's "Trouble". Roberts cites Goldie Hawn, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Gwen Stefani as her main role models and inspirations.^[4]

2003–10: The Pussycat Dolls

Within six months of her move, Roberts auditioned for the Pussycat Dolls. At that time the Pussycat Dolls were an underground modern burlesque troupe. Following their growing popularity, music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair became involved with the group helping them to transform into a franchise. The former dance troupe evolved into a popular music recording group. The only troupe members who remained after the re-casting process were Robin Antin (taking on the creative, executive and managerial roles), Carmit Bachar, Cyia Batten, Kasey Campbell, Kimberly Wyatt, Jessica Sutta and Ashley Roberts. After a few more auditions, singers Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton and Kaya Jones were added to the line-up. In 2004, they recorded "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" for the Shark Tale soundtrack and recorded the single, "Sway" which is featured on the soundtrack of Shall We Dance?. Jones left the group in 2005, Batten and Campbell had left earlier.

The Pussycat Dolls were launched into mainstream recognition following the release of PCD, which contained the number-one singles "Don't Cha", "Buttons" and "Stickwitu". Roberts sang co-lead with Bachar and Sutta in the "Stickwitu" single B-side, "Santa Baby". Bachar's departure from the group preceded the release of their second and final studio album, Doll Domination, which contains hit singles, "When I Grow Up", "I Hate This Part" and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)". Roberts recorded a solo song called "Played" for the Doll Domination's deluxe edition.

On January 29, 2010, Jessica Sutta revealed to E! Online that she had been ousted from the group, following a broken rib she sustained whilst on tour with the group, and thus confirmed her exit.^[53] On February 26, Kimberly Wyatt confirmed she was also leaving the group.^[54] The next day, Ashley Roberts announced her departure from the group via her website.^[53] In a letter to her fans, she made the following announcement:^[5]

Wyatt would later go on to confirm that all of the members had left the group, including Melody Thornton.^[55]Despite these changes, on May 24, a rumored third line-up would join Scherzinger.^[56] However, in late 2010, Scherzinger officially left the group to pursue a solo career.^[57] As a result, the original recording group line-up had officially disbanded. The group has sold 54 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.^[2][3]

Roberts made her film début as Brooke in the dance/drama/romance film Make It Happen with actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Riley Smith. Production lasted from August 8 to September 17, 2007, and the film was directed by Darren Grant and distributed by The Weinstein Company. It premièred on August 8, 2008 in the UK to mixed but mainly positive reviews.

2010–present: Solo career and Butterfly Effect

After leaving the Dolls, Roberts traveled around the world, followed guru Amma and took several dance/acting classes. In 2010, Roberts released her first solo song, a cover of "A Summer Place" and was released on iTunes on September 28. Roberts also made an appearance in ex-bandmate Wyatt's music video for the single, "Stars in Your Eyes".^[6] On June 14, 2012, she made a cameo appearance in Bobby Newberry's music video for his debut single "Dirrty Up", with ex-bandmate Melody Thornton.^[7] On October 10, 2012, Roberts released a preview of a cover version of Bobby Newberry's "All In A Day", produced by the Invaders. The full version was released at the end of October.^[8] On November 5, 2012, Roberts announced that her first official solo single would be "Yesterday" and would be released that week.

On November 7, 2012, it was confirmed that Roberts would compete in the twelfth series of the British reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, airing on ITV^[9] finishing as runner-up to Charlie Brooks. Despite not winning, she proved to be a popular public figure during her time on the show and it launched her solo career in the United Kingdom.

On May 25, 2014, Roberts' new single, "Clockwork" was released.^[10] On September 1, 2014, Roberts' debut album, Butterfly Effect, recorded at Metropolis in Chiswick, London was released. It was preceded by new single "Woman Up".^[11]

Other ventures

Television

On her official blog, Roberts announced that she would work on a number of different projects. She worked on her acting, and was a host on Maxim Does Spring Break on E!. Roberts also shot a pilot for MTV with Aubrey O'Day, Marques Houston, and Amanda Ghost.^[5]

She appeared on 90210 in the episode "Into the Wild" which aired on November 5, 2010, where she played a stripper.

On November 7, 2012, it was confirmed that Roberts would compete in the twelfth series of the British reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, airing on ITV^[9] finishing as runner-up to Charlie Brooks, in one of the closest ever reality show finales where she received 49.44% against 50.56% of the final vote. Despite not winning, she proved to be a popular public figure in the United Kingdom during her time on the show.

From January 2013 to March 2014, Roberts became an ice panel judge for the British skating show, Dancing on Ice on ITV alongside Robin Cousins, Karen Barber and Jason Gardiner.^[12]

Later that year, she began presenting the Ant vs Dec segment on the revived version of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, replacing former host Kirsty Gallacher along with voice-over sports commentator Clive Tyldesley. In February 2015, Roberts took part in the second series of The Jump.^[13] However, she was eliminated in the second week, after losing the Jump-off to Louise Thompson.

In 2016, she began hosting 1st Look and on 18 February 2017 was the guest judge on BBC One's Let It Shine.

Products and endorsements

In March 2013, Roberts was announced as Garnier's new self-tan spokesmodel and the face of Ambre Solaire No Streak Bronzer campaign.^[14]

Roberts has launched her first line of lingerie designed for the beach in Sydney, Australia.^[5][15]

In 2016, Ashley designed a women's shoe collection for spring/summer 2017 called ALLYN, which is Ashley's middle name.^[16]

Discography

• Butterfly Effect (2014)

Filmography

Guest appearances

• Fake Reaction (31 January 2013)
• Celebrity Juice (7 March 2013, 20 February 2014)
• The Chase: Celebrity Special (26 October 2013)
• I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! (2013)
• All Star Family Fortunes (29 December 2013)
• Catchphrase: Celebrity Special (22 June 2014)^[18]
• Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (16 August 2014)^[19]
• Through the Keyhole (10 October 2015)
• Diddy TV (15 March 2016, 20 June 2016)

Documentaries

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashley Roberts.

• Ashley Roberts on IMDb
• Official website
• Official Twitter
• Official YouTube