Cheryl Tweedy

Cheryl Tweedy was born in England in 1983, one of 5 children in a Catholic family. Tweedy’s mother, Joan Callaghan, often entered Cheryl and her brother Garry in modeling contests for children. By age 6, Cheryl had won several competitions and appeared in British commercials, including one with her brother.

At 16, Tweedy had beaten out 9,000 other hopefuls to secure a berth at London’s Royal Ballet Summer School. Her next challenge was finding the funding to pay for this training. Cheryl performed on the English television show “Gimme 5” – a Saturday morning show for kids – hoping to get sponsors for ballet school.
While Cheryl had a talent for dancing and had been told as much by the Royal Academy of Dancing, her true desire was to sing. In 2002, Tweedy auditioned for “Popstars: The Rivals”, a reality television show that created a boy band and a girl band and then pitted them against each other for the title. (This show was actually the inspiration for Simon Fuller’s Pop Idol, from which American Idol was spun). Cheryl made it through the initial audition and was sent to London for the next round.

Cheryl made it through to the final round and became one of the five girls selected for the band. Together, they chose the name “Girls Aloud” and spent three weeks promoting their single “Sound of the Underground.” Their work paid off as they were selected the winners over the boy band.

Cheryl and the band enjoyed their popularity and worked to release their first album, including touring to promote it. Their joy was short-lived when Tweedy was involved in a fight with a restroom attendant at a nightclub and was subsequently charged with racially aggravated assault. The incident went to trial where Tweedy claimed self-defense and denied using racial slurs. However, the jury found her guilty of physical assault, but cleared her of the racially aggravated charges. Cheryl was ordered to pay compensatory and court costs as well as perform community service.

Tweedy and Girls Aloud put the past behind them and went on to record additional albums as well as tour. Cheryl co-wrote many of the songs that the group recorded. In 2005, Tweedy dated and became engaged to Chelsea footballer, Ashley Cole. The couple married in 2006.

Cheryl Tweedy continued to be the subject of media attention, signing a deal in 2006 to be the face of Coca-Cola Zero for its United Kingdom launch. She also finished seventh in the For Him Magazine’s poll. In addition, her attendance at football games to support her husband has been fodder for paparazzi as well.
Cheryl Tweedy Cole continues to record and perform with Girls Aloud as well as appear on British television programs and benefits.