Melanie C

Melanie C
Chisholm in 2019
Born	Melanie Jayne Chisholm (1974-01-12) 12 January 1974 (age 50)[1][2] Whiston, England
Other names	Mel C Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer DJ dancer actress television personality fitness models book writer businesswoman
Partner(s)	Thomas Starr (2002–2012) Joe Marshall (2015–2022)
Children	1
Relatives	Paul O'Neill (half-brother)
Musical career
Genres	Rock[3] pop[1]
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Red Girl Virgin
Member of	Spice Girls
Website	melaniec.net
Musical artist
Signature

Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), professionally known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ, records businesswoman, actress, TV personality, fitness model and writer. As one of the five members of the Spice Girls, she was nicknamed Sporty Spice and throughout her career her combined sales surpass 135 million records. As a member of the group she released the biggest-selling debut single of all time with "Wannabe" and the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group with Spice, becoming part of the best-selling girl group of all time with over 105 million records sold and of the second global cultural and media phenomenon after Beatlemania. As a band member she holds, together with The Beatles, the record for consecutive UK Christmas number ones, with three singles.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]} She is considered by many critics as the vocal epicenter of the band thanks to her wide vocal range, vocal agility, impressive versatility and her unique and distinctive tone.^[12] Chisholm holds the current record of attendance for a free concert within a public event thanks to her show on a float, during the 2019 Global Pride Tour, in the streets of Sao Paulo in front of 3.7 million people.^[13][14][15]

Chisholm began her solo career in late 1998 on the single "When You're Gone" with Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams. In 1999, Chisholm signed with Virgin Records as a solo artist; her debut solo album Northern Star was released in October of that year. The album reached number one in Sweden and number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. It sold over 4 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling solo album of any Spice Girls member.^[16][17] In 2003, Chisholm released her second album, Reason. The following year, Chisholm departed from Virgin Records and founded her own record company, Red Girl Records. In 2005, Chisholm released her third album, Beautiful Intentions. It spent 9 weeks at number one in Portugal and spawned international hit singles, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Her fourth studio album, This Time, was released in 2007, which spawned three number one singles in Portugal.^[18] In December 2007, Chisholm reunited with the Spice Girls to release a greatest hits album supported by a world tour.^[19] Chisholm continued to release albums in the following years, including The Sea (2011), Stages (2012), and Version of Me (2016). Her UK indie's number one eponymous eighth studio album was released in 2020.

She has co-written 11 UK number-ones, more than any other female artist in chart history. She remains the only female performer to top the charts as a solo artist, as part of a duo, quartet, and quintet. With twelve UK number-one singles, she is the second female artist – and the first British female artist – with most singles at number one in the United Kingdom. With a total of fourteen songs that have received the number one in Britain (including double A-sides), Chisholm is the female artist with most songs at number one in the UK ranking history.^[20][21][22] Her work has earned her several awards, including three World Music Awards, five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, eight Billboard special awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, ten ASCAP awards, and one Juno Award.^[23] As a solo artist, Chisholm has sold more than 30 million records, has reached internationally the number one 48 times in 33 main or component charts in the world with 21 of her albums, singles or collaborations^[24] and has earned over 335 worldwide certifications, including 44 silver, gold and platinum certifications as a solo artist.

Chisholm is also an actress; she was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in Blood Brothers in the West End,^[25] and starred as Mary Magdalene in a touring show of Jesus Christ Superstar in 2012.^[26] Chisholm's autobiography, Who I Am: My Story,^[27] was released on 15 September 2022.^[28][29]