The Truth Behind Victoria Beckham's Rise To Fame
Rex FeaturesBy Charlotte Duck
April 1974: Victoria Adams enjoyed a privileged childhood in Hertfordshire. Her father was a successful electronics engineer but his daughter was embarrassed about her family’s wealth and wouldn’t be dropped off at school in their Rolls Royce.
Rex Features1978-88: The star’s early school life wasn’t happy and she was regularly bullied. “Children were literally picking things up out of the puddles and throwing them at me. And I just stood there, on my own. No one was with me. I didn't have any friends." Victoria learnt to be self-sufficient during these difficult years, something that would help her later on.
Rex FeaturesAfter watching the musical Fame, Victoria decided to put her miserable school days behind her and, yes, become famous.
Lainey1991: At the age of 17, Victoria went about making this dream a reality. She enrolled herself in the Laine Theatre Arts College in Epsom and studied dance and modelling.
Rex Features1991: Victoria also joined a pop group called… Persuasion
Rex FeaturesMarch 1993: Victoria saw an advert in the showbiz magazine, The Stage, asking for girls who were "street smart, extrovert, ambitious and able to sing and dance". Victoria made it into the final five, which also included Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Michelle Stephenson and Lianne Morgan. The group were given the name Touch and moved in together in a house in Maidenhead.
Rex Features1994: Michelle and Lianna were soon replaced by Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton. The band renamed themselves - yes, the Spice Girls were born.
PA PhotosJune 1996: With “Wannabe”, Victoria got her first taste of success. The Spice Girls’ debut song was not only No1 for seven weeks in Britain; it also made the top spot in 31 countries around the world.
Rex Features1996-7: The band cemented this success with Spice, their 10-times Platinum album. They also gave themselves nicknames: Victoria was, of course, Posh Spice because of her middle-class background, love of designer shoes and sophisticated attitude.
Rex Features1996 onwards: The Spice Girls were cleverly marketed and each was given a trademark “look”. Victoria was regularly seen in a micro-mini Little Black Dress that showed off her slender legs and suited her more refined manner.
Rex Features1996 onwards: Merchandising and sponsorship deals were a big part of the Spice Girls. The group endorsed Channel Five, Playstation, Cadburys, Walkers and Pepsi while Spicemania was at its peak and their images could be found everywhere from dolls to food products to handbags.
Rex Features1997: Amid the craziness and explosion of her career, Victoria found some stability in her personal life as she started dating Manchester United footballer David Beckham. The pair were introduced at a charity football match and Victoria later said of the event. "I didn't really know who he was. I was never into football."
Rex Features1997: This was also the year that the Spice Girls converted their musical success onto the big screen. Despite being panned by the critics, Spice World, a musical comedy about the group, did well commercially, taking $75m in the box office.
PA PhotosJuly 1999: Victoria married David Beckham at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland and made Posh ‘n’ Becks official. OK! Magazine snapped up the exclusive deal to the pictures for a several million and Brand Beckham became a reality.
PA PhotosMeanwhile the Spice Girls were named the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s, winning 80% in a poll of 1000 people. It seemed Victoria could do no wrong.
PA PhotosAugust 2000: But then Geri left and the group suddenly announced that they would be taking a break to concentrate on their solo careers. For Victoria, this meant a collaboration with Dane Bowers on “Out Of Your Mind”. The record didn’t do too shabbily at all and debuted at No2 in the charts.
PA Photos2001: Victoria’s interest in fashion became evident soon after the Spice Girls split. No longer constrained to wear Little Black Dresses or co-ordinate with her band-mates, Victoria experimented with her style – with exciting results!
PA PhotosSeptember 2001: The singer also honed in on the public’s fascination with her marriage to David Beckham. Her autobiography, Learning To Fly became the third best-selling non-fiction title of 2001 and sold more than 500,000 copies.
PA PhotosSeptember 2001: In the same month, Victoria gave birth to her second son, Romeo James Beckham and impressed with her ability to juggle being a mum with her career.
PA PhotosMarch 2002: Posh utilised the power of TV and made a series of documentaries, giving viewers the chance to get a glimpse into her personal and public life. Being Victoria Beckham followed the singer releasing her debut solo album and attracted an audience of nearly 9m. One critic described her as “clearly level-headed”, hinting at the star’s business focus that became more apparent later.
PA Photos2004: After “hitting it off instantly” with Rock & Republic designer Michael Ball, Victoria designed a limited-edition fashion line for the brand called VB Rocks. The line, which consisted of mostly tight-fitting jeans, proved to massive hit for the high-end label.
PA PhotosJanuary 2006: The singer had always had a close relationship with Italian designer Roberto Cavalli but everyone was surprised when she made an appearance at his Milan Fashion Week show. She also endeared herself to the fashion crowd by styling her friend Katie Holmes in a shoot.
PA PhotosJanuary 2007: David Beckham confirmed his move to LA Galaxy football club, moving Posh and the kids to Hollywood…
PA Photos2007: The Beckhams were already friendly with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes but now they were in LA, they also befriended the likes of Kate Beckinsale, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett and Eva Longoria.
PA PhotosJune 2007: GLAMOUR Magazine recognised Victoria’s contribution to fashion and honoured her with their coveted Woman Of The Year and Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards.
PA Photos2007: Victoria’s changing hairstyle was almost as talked about as her changing clothes. Gone this year were the flowing locks – to be replaced by the Pob and then the Pop.
Rex FeaturesNovember 2007-February 2008: Posh made a cameo appearance in fashion sitcom Ugly Betty. The singer played Wilhemina Slater’s bridesmaid in the episode entitled “A Nice Day For A Posh Wedding”.
PA PhotosDecember 2007: The Spice Girls, including Victoria, reunited for their world tour, called The Return Of The Spice Girls. Due to the demand, the band ended up performing 47 sell-out shows when they had originally only planned 11.
Rex FeaturesFebruary 2008: Having proved herself as an accomplished designer, Posh appeared as a guest judge in the fourth season of Project Runway.
PA PhotosSeptember 2008: After being credited with popularising Roland Mouret’s Moon Dress, Posh launched her own eponymous limited-edition dress collection with the help of a few famous friends. The collection of 400 dresses was described as “accomplished”, “impressive” and “not a single dud”.
Rex FeaturesAugust 2009: In the wake of Paula Abdul’s surprise exit from American Idol, Victoria Beckham stepped in as guest judge for a rumoured £155,000. Yet again the singer showed her diversity and won over the critics. Who knows where the star will go next?
