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Billie Paul Piper (born Lianne Piper on
22 September 1982) is an English actress. She began her
career as a pop singer in her teens, and was well-known
for her marriage to DJ Chris Evans, but is now best
known for portraying Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor
in the television series Doctor Who from 2005 to 2006.
Music: Piper's first break in the entertainment
world came as a teenager, when she was selected to
appear on the Saturday morning kids' television show
Scratchy & Co. Piper later landed a role in a
television commercial promoting the pop magazine Smash
Hits. Her role was to blow a bubble in front of the
camera, burst it with her finger and shout
"Pop!". A red screen would then come up and
the words "Smash hits Magazine. 100% pure
pop!" with Piper's voice saying the words.
She then had to run up to the camera and
dance, then run back. Soon after she was offered a
record deal at the age of fifteen, and in 1998 became
the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the
UK singles chart with "Because We Want To",
released under the artist name "Billie". Her
follow-up single "Girlfriend" also debuted at
Number One, and her first album, Honey to the B
(released immediately afterwards) debuted at Number 14
in the UK album charts. She released two further singles
off the album, "She Wants You" and "Honey
to the Bee"; both songs debuted at Number 3.
Piper then took a year off to record her second album.
She decided to release further records under her full
name, Billie Piper. She returned to the Singles Chart in
May 2000 with a new, sexier sound. She hit the Number 1
spot with "Day & Night", but her success
wasn't to continue. She waited until the following
September to release "Something Deep Inside".
That reached Number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. In
October 2000, Piper released her second album, Walk of
Life, which reached Number 14 in the UK Album Chart. The
song "Walk of Life", the final single off this
album, was released in December 2000 and reached Number
25 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 1999, Piper was nominated for two BRIT Awards and was
named Best Female Star at the Smash Hits Poll Winners'
party, although at the latter ceremony she was reduced
to tears after being viciously booed by jealous fans of
Ritchie Neville, member of boyband Five, whom she was
dating at the time.
On 15 January 2007, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles started
a campaign to get "Honey to the Bee" back into
the Top 100 on download sales as a way of testing out
new chart rules that favour download sales. The campaign
was highly successful, with "Honey to the Bee"
re-entering the official UK singles chart at #17, eight
years after it was first released.
Film and television: In 2003, Piper decided to
end her pop career and return to her original ambition,
acting. She took acting lessons while living in Los
Angeles and, still a high-profile figure, quickly earned
roles in the BBC Television series The Canterbury Tales
(modern retellings of Chaucer's stories) and the one-off
drama Bella and the Boys.
Piper gained very positive reviews for these
appearances, critics seemingly feeling that she was a
far better actress than she was a singer.
In 2004, Piper appeared in the films The Calcium Kid, as
the romantic interest of Orlando Bloom's character, and
Things to do Before You're Thirty. Shortly before
starting work on Doctor Who, she filmed a starring role
in the horror movie Spirit Trap along side Russian pop
star alsou, released in the summer of 2005 to generally
poor reviews.
In November 2005, Piper starred as Hero in a BBC
adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, updated for the
modern day in a similar manner to the Canterbury Tales
series in which she featured, with Hero now being a
weather presenter in a television station.
Piper has completed work on two stand-alone television
productions. In the first, a BBC adaptation of Philip
Pullman's historical novel The Ruby in the Smoke
broadcast in December 2006, Piper played protagonist
Sally Lockhart, a Victorian orphan. The BBC plans to
film all four of Pullman's Sally Lockhart novels,
presumably with Piper continuing in the role. In 2007
she appeared as the main character, Fanny Price, in an
adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park,
screened on ITV1. This was her first acting role on
television for a broadcaster other than the BBC.
Piper is also attached to appear in an ITV2 adaptation
of Belle de Jour, a book detailing the life of a
prostitute.
Doctor Who: In May 2004, it was announced that
Piper was to play the character Rose Tyler, companion to
the Doctor in the revived series of Doctor Who,
beginning in 2005.
Piper won the Most Popular Actress category at the 2005
and 2006 National Television Awards for her work on
Doctor Who. BBC News named Piper as one of its
"Faces of the Year" for 2005, primarily due to
her success in Doctor Who. At The South Bank Show Awards
on 27 January 2006 Piper was awarded The Times
Breakthrough Award for her successful transition from
singing to acting. In March 2006, the Television and
Radio Industries Club named Piper as best new TV talent
in their annual Tric awards. In September 2006, Piper
was named Best Actress at the TV Quick and TV Choice
Awards.
After the completion of the first series of Doctor Who,
the British media regularly released conflicting reports
about how long Piper would be staying with the
programme. In March 2006, she claimed that she would
continue on Doctor Who into its third season in 2007. On
10 May 2006, however, she was reported to be considering
quitting the series, although she did express an
interest in playing a female version of the Doctor in
the future (possibly related to a proposed Doctor Who
spin-off series about Rose which was later dropped). On
15 June 2006, the BBC announced that she was to depart
in the final episode of the second series,
"Doomsday". Piper's decision to leave had been
taken a year previously, but remained a secret until
news of her departure became public.
Both Piper and head writer Russell T. Davies have
mentioned that the manner of her departure was intended
to leave the door open for Tyler return to the role at a
later date. Rumours about a return in the 2007 series
have, however, been denied in print by Davies. The BBC
had briefly planned to produce a Rose Tyler spin-off,
starring Piper, which was to follow Rose's life after
leaving the Doctor, but Davies ultimately decided to
cancel the project.
Theatre: Piper made her stage debut in a touring
production of Christopher Hampton's play Treats, which
opened in early 2007 in Windsor. Treats was to have
ended its tour in the West End, at the Garrick Theatre,
starting on 28 February 2007 with previews from on 20
February. The play officially finished as of 26th May.
Other Work: Besides her acting work, Piper has
also begun to provide voiceovers for various television
commercials, including one for Comfort Fabric Softener
airing in June 2007.
Personal life: Piper was born in Swindon,
Wiltshire, England to Paul Piper and Mandy Kent. Her
parents changed her given name from Lianne to Billie
three weeks after registering her birth. Piper has one
younger brother, Charlie, and two younger sisters,
Harley and Ellie.
Piper grew up in Nine Elms, Swindon. She went to
Brookfield Primary School in the Shaw, Swindon, and
Bradon Forest Secondary School in the village of Purton.
She supports Swindon Town football club. Later, she
attended The Sylvia Young Theatre School. She is 1.65 m
tall. She is quoted as saying: "Weight doesn't
matter as long as you're happy with yourself."
Piper married businessman, television presenter, and BBC
Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans in a secret ceremony on May 2001
in Las Vegas after five months of dating. Their marriage
attracted much comment due to the sixteen-year age gap
between the two.
In recent articles, Piper has credited Evans with saving
her from a particularly difficult time in her life.
Their courtship began in May 2000 when Piper was
promoting her new single "Day and Night" on
Evans' show TFI Friday. Shortly after that appearance,
Piper started a vigorous promotion for her album Walk of
Life.
After working 16 hour days and having wild nights on the
town, Piper developed cystitis. With a new album, Piper
had little time to recover. In a bar in Soho, Piper
collapsed as a result of a bladder infection that moved
up to her kidneys, and started to urinate blood. She was
taken to the hospital, and her publicist put out a
statement that Piper was suffering from a kidney
infection and exhaustion. Piper was too embarrassed to
admit to her mother the reason behind her hospital stay.
Instead, she told her mother she has taken the morning
after pill and had an allergic reaction to it. Shortly
after the hospital stay, Piper began taking sleeping
pills and would use them to "sleep her way
thinner".
In December, Piper released Walk of Life on Evans's
radio show. Evans asked: "Why don't we get married
and sell the photos to Hello!, then give all the money
to charity?" To which Piper replied: "OK,
let's." She didn't think he was serious, but she
wasn't sure. After the show, Piper and Evans exchanged
numbers. To her surprise, Evans called her, and they
went out to a pub and "really hit it off".
Piper went to bed and the next morning a silver Ferrari
was on her doorstep with a note asking for her hand in
marriage.[citation needed] Piper broke up with her
on-again-off again boyfriend, Ritchie Neville of Five.
During this time, the media blamed Evans for Piper's
apparent profligacy, but, in fact, it was Evans who
helped Piper take control of her career. Her
relationship with Evans created a rift between Piper and
her parents. Subsequently, the Pipers took a large sum
of money in return for an exclusive on their daughter.
Billie felt betrayed and ended all communication with
her parents for a long time. With her marriage to Evans,
Piper gave up on anorexia, drugs, and pop stardom. Then,
Billie set her sights on becoming an actress. She spent
some time in Los Angeles taking acting classes. Since
then, she has landed lucrative film and television
roles.
In October 2004, the two began a trial separation. In
spring of 2005 it was confirmed that she and Evans would
be divorcing. The two remain friends, and in November
2005 Piper was a guest on the first episode of her
ex-husband's show OFI Sunday. As of 2006 Piper and Evans
live two houses away from each other. She still refers
to her ex-husband as "Mr. E" (a subtle
reference to her "Mystery" marriage).
A story in The Independent on 27 June 2006 stated that
Piper has declared that she does not wish to claim any
money from Evans' reported £30m wealth or his £540,000
salary from Radio Two. "I'm not taking a penny from
him," she told the Radio Times. "I think
that's disgusting." Piper also revealed in her
interview with Radio Times that she left her pop star
career with very little money. The couple got divorced
on 31st May 2007. Evans has admitted that the age gap
was a reason in seeking the divorce.
Piper dated and lived with law student Amadu Sowe from
2004 to 2006. She is now dating actor Laurence Fox, son
of James Fox and they are living together in their new
home in a village in West Sussex.
Inference as to sexual orientation: In a 2006
interview with Gay Community News, Piper said: "I
fancy women big time... I check them out more than I
check men out. Maybe I would want to sleep with a
woman."
Autobiography: Piper signed a six-figure contract
with publishers Hodder and Stoughton to write her
autobiography Growing Pains, which was released in the
autumn of 2006. Apparently (according to a Top Gear
interview), Piper only released the autobiography due to
an unauthorised biography coming out.
In recent publication, an excerpt of her autobiography
has been printed. Piper divulges about her battle with
anorexia that developed after a television presenter
called her fat when she was a 16-year-old pop star.
Piper began to use laxatives as well as starvation to
drop weight. During a US promotional tour, she
contemplated suicide as a result of low record sales and
self doubt. She admits to managing five days without
food during which time she existed on nothing more than
Diet Coke and coffee.
She also stated that her relationship
with Evans made her ditch her starvation diet and gave
her a new zest for life. However, after her split with
Evans, Piper returned to anorexia. In the autobiography,
Piper said that eating disorders were rife among the
girls at her former school the Sylvia Young Theatre
School. Young has since spoken out against Piper calling
her claim "rubbish" and stating she feels
"bewildered" by the allegation. |
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