Charlotte Church 

Charlotte Church rose to fame as a young singer on the strength of her powerful soprano voice. Best known for her religious and classical work, she has also enjoyed some success in the pop charts, and has even found time to venture into acting.

Charlotte Maria Reed was born on February 21, 1986, in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Her parents separated when she was a baby and she acquired the name she is now known by when she was adopted by her mother's new husband, James Church. Even as a small child, she loved performing, having to be physically dragged from the stage after singing "Ghostbusters" at a holiday camp in Caernarfon. By the age of eight she was a regular in local karaoke clubs and was well known for her beautiful voice. Her first encounter with fame came when she entered a talent show organized by daytime television hosts Richard Madley and Judy Finnigan. She sang "Pie Jesu" over the phone to the producers, and instantly found herself in demand. A subsequent appearance on The Big Big Talent Show attracted the attention of manager Jonathan Shalit and soon she had a record contract with Sony BMG.

Church was just twelve years old when her first album, Voice of an Angel, hit the charts. A collection of arias and traditional songs, it shot straight to number one, eventually reaching double platinum status in the and firmly establishing her as a major talent. Confident and personable, if not always tactful, Church bolstered her fame by doing the rounds of the chat shows, appearing with Jay Leno, Rosie O'Donnell, David Letterman, and Oprah Winfrey. The following year she released the album Charlotte Church and went on to perform for Pope John Paul II and Prince Charles.

Along with her singing career, Church found time to try her hand at acting, appearing in episodes of Touched by an Angel (with Roma Downey and Della Reese) and Heartbeat (with Mark Jordan and William Simons). She went on to star in the Craig Ferguson film I'll Be There, alongside Imelda Staunton and Anthony Stewart Head, playing a teenager trying to find a new husband for her mother.

Church's later two albums, Dream a Dream and Enchantment, proved that she had staying power, and 2005's Tissues and Issues showed that she could also impress as a pop singer. She also proved to be a capable live performer, appearing in celebrity concerts with the likes of Shirley Bassey, Julie Andrew, Billy Gilman, Wyclef Jean, Ricky Martin, Jessica Simpson, Whitney Houston, and Placido Domingo. In 2006 Channel 4 gave her her own TV show, The Charlotte Church Show, a Welsh-themed celebrity talk show with guests such as Rupert Everett, Will Smith, and Alan Cumming. When Paris Hilton insisted on a fee of $630,000 to appear, Church told her where to go.

Growing up in public has been difficult for Church, with her private life often the focus of press speculation. She left her parents' home at the age of sixteen to live with her boyfriend, Steven Johnson, splitting from him a year later and going on to date Kyle Johnson. Kyle later caused a scandal by talking about their sex life in the press, for which Church punched him in public. She now lives with Welsh rugby player Gavin Henson.

The press has recently devoted much attention to Church's relationship with Henson, who is a Welsh International Rugby Union player reporting that they have bought a manor home in Glamorgan, Wales. At the end of 2005, she purchased a property in her native Llandaff,  Cardiff, for £500,000. In 2007 the couple had mentioned the possibility of marriage when interviewed by the press but after finding out that Charlotte had become pregnant they had put off any plans of marriage whilst until after the baby's birth.

On Thursday, 20 September 2007, Church gave birth to a baby girl named Ruby Megan Henson.

YUDDY