Samantha Fox facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Samantha Fox
Samantha Fox at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Samantha Karen Fox
Also known as	Sam Fox
Born	(1966-04-15) 15 April 1966 (age 58) Mile End, London, England
Genres	Dance-pop pop Hi-NRG Eurobeat pop rock house
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter former glamour model actress TV personality record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1983–1987 (model) 1986–present (singer)
Labels	Jive Sony Lamborghini
Associated acts	Stock Aitken Waterman Full Force Günther Hawkwind Marc Mysterio Sabrina Salerno

Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is a British singer, actress and former glamour model. She was born in London. She has sold over thirty million records all over the world and has performed in many movies and television programs. She was very popular in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Fox signed a five-album recording contract with Jive Records in 1986. Released in March of that year, her debut single for the label, "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)", became a top-10 hit across Europe, North America, and Australia, reaching number one in several countries. Fox released her debut studio album Touch Me in July 1986, and followed it with the studio albums Samantha Fox in 1987 and I Wanna Have Some Fun in 1988, each of which produced international hit singles. Fox received a Best British Female Artist nomination at the Brit Awards 1988. Her subsequent studio albums Just One Night (1991), 21st Century Fox (1997), and Angel with an Attitude (2005) were less commercially successful, but she has continued to tour and has indicated that she will release a seventh studio album in 2023, produced by Ian Masterson.

Fox has appeared in a number of films and reality television shows, and has occasionally worked as a television presenter.

Early life

Fox was born on 15 April 1966 in Mile End, East London, the oldest daughter of actress Carole Ann Wilkie and John Patrick Fox. She had a sister (died 2023), Vanessa, and two half-siblings from her father's second marriage, Frederica and Frankie. Fox comes from a family of market traders.

Fox took an interest in the theatre from an early age; she first appeared on a theatre stage when she was three years old. She formed her first pop band with Richard Smart, Edward Gallagher and Bob Day when she was fourteen. She attended St Thomas More Catholic School, Wood Green; and was enrolled in the Anna Scher Theatre School from the age of fifteen. The next year she signed her first record deal, with Lamborghini Records.

Career

In tandem with her modelling career, Fox attempted to launch a singing career in 1983. Her first single, credited to S.F.X. was called "Rockin' with My Radio", released on the Lamborghini Records label. It was produced by Ian Gillan Band and Spencer Davis Group member Ray Fenwick, who also wrote the b-side. The collaboration with Fenwick continued into 1984 and her second single, "Aim to Win", (under her full name) was released. Neither of these singles made the chart and her singing was put on hold for the time being.

Two years later Fox was invited to attend an open audition for Jive Records, as the label was seeking "a British Madonna" to sing the song "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)". She was successful and was offered a five album deal. The single was released in March 1986 and became an instant hit, reaching the top 10 all across Europe and topped the charts in a number of countries. In the UK the song reached No.3. Some months later, Fox was launched onto the American market and the single also peaked within the top 10 at No.4.

Chart success continued with her second single, "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)", which also hit the UK top 10 and was followed by her debut album, Touch Me, which peaked at No.17 in the UK as well as charting all over Europe, including a No.1 placing in Finland.

In 1987, having now finished her modelling career, Fox forged ahead with her singing and performed live across the globe, including the US, where her career continued to flourish. A second album, simply titled Samantha Fox, contained the hits "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (UK #8) and "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" (US #3). The former of these produced by top production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman, while the latter was remixed by US production duo Full Force. These collaborations continued into her third album where both contributed songs and further hits. 1988's I Wanna Have Some Fun featured the hits "I Only Wanna Be With You" (UK #16) and "I Wanna Have Some Fun" (US #8). The album also charted in both territories. By the end of the decade, Fox had scored three top 10 hits in both the UK and US and three gold albums in the latter. Australian and European success was also notable.

The 1990s however saw a sharp decline in sales as none of her remaining albums produced any hits. Three further studio albums were released, namely: Just One Night (1991), 21st Century Fox (1997) and Angel With an Attitude (2005). A Greatest Hits album was issued in 2009, both in single CD and double CD formats. In 2012 her first 4 albums were re-issued as double deluxe CDs by Cherry Red.

Fox did enjoy a few hit collaborations in the years since however, appearing with the band Sox in the heats for the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest and scored a minor hit with their song "Go for the Heart", a UK chart hit with "Santa Maria", by DJ Milano and a European hit with Swedish singer Gunther in 2004.

Film and television

In 1990, Fox appeared on the American sitcom Charles in Charge as Samantha Steele. Her film career included roles in The Match (1999), written and directed by Mick Davis and starring Richard E. Grant, Ian Holm and Tom Sizemore, 7 Cases (2015) starring Steven Berkoff, and the comedy horror film Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017). In 1995 she guest starred in the Hindi film Rock Dancer.

In November 2009, Fox took part in ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!; she was voted out on day 16. In 2010, she appeared in a celebrity episode of Come Dine with Me with Calum Best, Janice Dickinson, and Jeff Brazier. In 2016, Fox became a participant in Celebrity Big Brother 18 and she just missed out on reaching the final finishing in seventh place.

Personal life

In 2009, Fox announced her plans to form a civil partnership with Myra Stratton, her manager. In 2015, at 60 years old, Stratton died of cancer.

After that Fox began a relationship with her tour manager Linda Birgitte Olsen, a native of Norway. Olsen proposed and the couple became engaged on Valentine's Day in 2020. They married on 18 June 2022.

Charitable activity

In 2008, Fox donated her favourite bra to a charity auction.

In 2011, she appeared as part of a campaign for LGBT charity the Albert Kennedy Trust.

Discography

Studio albums

• Touch Me (1986)
• Samantha Fox (1987)
• I Wanna Have Some Fun (1988)
• Just One Night (1991)
• 21st Century Fox (1997)
• Angel with an Attitude (2005)

Awards and recognition

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)