Ashley Roberts

**Ashley Allyn Roberts**(born September 14, 1981) 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 series of Dancing on Ice.

## 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.

During high school summer breaks, Roberts travelled to California to study modern dance. After high school, 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.

### **2003-2010: The Pussycat Dolls**

Within six months of her move, Roberts had joined the Pussycat Dolls with members Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt and became a salaried employee of Interscope Records. She sang co-lead with Bachar and Sutta in the "Stickwitu" single B-side, "Santa Baby". Roberts also recorded a song called "Played" for the Doll Domination's deluxe edition. She has also appeared in the game show Rock and a Hard Place, hosted by Meatloaf, with Thornton and Bachar.

Shortly after Wyatt announced her departure from the group, Roberts followed suit. On February 27, 2010, in a letter to her fans, she made the following announcement on her website:

*"Yes, I have left the Pussycat Dolls. I love you all sooo much!!! I am so grateful to have the love and support of all of you. It was an amazing ride and I learned so much! You all mean the world to me and I'm excited to take you all on a new adventure. An adventure full of creativity, inspiration, learning, growing and lots of fun."*

Roberts appeared in other media for the first time in the music video for Counting Crows' song "Accidentally in Love" as the girl who escapes from her home and her boyfriend with a stuffed rabbit. Roberts made her film debut as Brooke in the dance/drama/romance film Make It Happen with actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Riley Smith. Production lasted from Aguust 8 to September 17, 2007, and the film was directed by Darren Grant and distributed by The Weinstein Company. It premiered on August 8, 2008 in the UK to mixed but mainly positive reviews.

### **2010-present: Solo Career and Butterfly Effect**

Roberts announced that she was in the studio recording songs for her first solo album. In 2010, Roberts released her first solo song, a cover of "A Summer Place" and was released on iTunes on September 28, 2010. Roberts also made an appearance in ex-bandmate Wyatt's music video for the single "Stars in Your Eyes". On June 14, 2012, she made a cameo appearance in Bobby Newbury's music video for his debut single "Dirrty Up", with ex-bandmate Melody Thornton. On October 10, 2012, Roberts released a preview of a cover version of Bobby Newbury's "All In A Day", produced by the Invaders. The full version was released at the end of October. On November 5, 2012, Roberts announced that her first official solo single would be "Yesterday" and would be released that week.

On May 25, 2014, Roberts' new single "Clockwork" was released.

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".

## 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.

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 twelth series of the British reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, airing on ITV finishing as runner-up to Charlie Brooks, in one of the closest every 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 January 2014, Roberts became an ice panel judge for the British skating show, Dancing on Ice on ITV alongside Robin Cousins, Karen Barner and Jason Gardiner.

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. However, she was eliminated in the secnd week, after losing the Jump-off to Louise Thompson.

### **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.

Roberts has launched her first line of lingerie designed for the beach in Sydney, Australia.

## Personal Life

Later in 2013, it was reported that Roberts had begun a relationship with TV presenter Matt Johnson. However, a Reveal article stated that Roberts "insists she is still single".

## Discography

See Also: Ashley Roberts Discography and The Pussycat Dolls Discography

* Butterfly Effect (2014)

## Filmography

### **Guest Appearance**

* Fake Reaction (2013) - Guest
* Celebrity Juice (2013 and 2014) - Guest
* The Chase: Celebrity Special (2013) - Contestant
* I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! (2013) - Guest
* All Star Family Fortunes (2013) - Contestant
* Catchphrase: Celebrity Special (2014) - Contestant
* Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (2014) - Contestant
* Through the Keyhole (2015) - Panellist