Melanie C

Melanie Jayne Chisholm was born on 12 January 1974 in Whiston, Lancashire, the daughter of singer Joan Tuffley Chisholm O'Neill (who also worked as a secretary and personal assistant), and Otis Elevator Company fitter, Alan William Chisholm. Her parents married in 1971 and separated in 1978, when Melanie was four years old. Her mother remarried and had more children, one of whom is racing driver Paul O'Neill. Melanie grew up in Widnes, Cheshire, attending Brookvale Junior School in nearby Runcorn and Fairfield High School in Widnes. She studied for a diploma in singing, dancing, and musical theatre at the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in London, leaving just short of completing her three-year course and later gaining teaching qualifications in tap and modern theatre dance with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.

1994–2000: Spice Girls

In 1994, Chisholm was one of around 400 women to respond to an advertisement in The Stage magazine placed by Chris and Bob Herbert, who were looking to form a new girl group which would later become the Spice Girls. Chisholm, along with Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, and Victoria Adams, were originally chosen as the members of the group, which became a quintet with the addition of Emma Bunton. Insecure about the lack of a contract and frustrated by the direction of Chris and Bob Herbert's Heart Management, the group severed ties with the Herberts. In 1995, they negotiated with record labels in London and Los Angeles and eventually signed a deal with Virgin. Their debut album, Spice, was a huge worldwide commercial success, peaked at number 1 in more than 17 countries across the world, and was certified multi-Platinum in 27 countries. Conceptually, the album centred on the idea of Girl Power, and during that time was compared to Beatlemania. In total the album sold 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group and one of the most successful albums of all time. The first single, "Wannabe" reached number 1 in 37 countries, and their subsequent singles – "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Mama" – all peaked at number 1 in the UK.

In 1997, they released their second album, Spiceworld, with the two first singles "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much", entering the UK Albums Chart at number 1. The album was a global best seller, selling 20 million copies worldwide. The group also starred in their own film, Spiceworld: The Movie, which grossed $100 million at the box office worldwide and became the second most watched movie of the year. The next single, "Stop", peaked at number two, their only single to not reach the top of the charts. "Viva Forever", another number 1, was the last single before Halliwell's departure from the group in May 1998. With four members, the group released "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998 and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive number 1 Christmas song – equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. On 30 November, Canadian artist Bryan Adams, released "When You're Gone" with featured vocals of Chisholm, her debut solo project. The song peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, spent fifteen weeks in the Top 40 and received the Platinum certification.

1999–2003: Northern Star and Reason

In 1999, Chisholm signed with Virgin and, during the summer, recorded the album Northern Star. She recorded "Ga Ga" from the soundtrack of the film Big Daddy. The song was released as promotional single on 25 June, only in the UK. She also co-wrote and recorded the backing vocals for "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind", sung by Emma Bunton from the film soundtrack Pokémon: The First Movie. On 27 September, Chisholm released her debut single, "Goin' Down" and peaked at number 4 in the UK and 25 in Australia. The music video was shot in Los Angeles and directed by Giuseppi Capotondi. Her debut album, Northern Star, was released on 18 October 1999, peaked at number 4 and sold four million copies worldwide, received triple Platinum in the UK, and another seven certifications, including Platinum in Germany and Sweden. "Northern Star" was released as a second single and also peaked at number 4. To promote the album, Chisholm embarked on a tour called From Liverpool to Leicester Square, travelling to Australia, the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands and Denmark, between 27 September and 1 November. In 2000, Chisholm had two songs in film soundtracks, "Suddenly Monday" in Maybe Baby and "Go!" in Whatever It Takes.

Her next single, "Never Be the Same Again", was a contemporary R&B song. The song, which features TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, was released on 20 March 2000 and became Chisholm's first number 1 single. It received Gold certification in the UK and also peaked at number 1 in Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland and Sweden. The song was the eighteenth best-selling song of 2000 and sold more than a million copies across Europe. After the success of "Never Be the Same Again", the label decided to release two more singles. On 7 August 2000, Virgin released a remix version of "I Turn to You" as the fourth single; the song became her second number 1 in the UK, Netherlands and Sweden. "I Turn to You" also peaked at number 1 in Austria, Denmark and Dance Club Songs of United States. "If That Were Me" was released as the fifth and final single and peaked at number 18. The proceeds from its sale went to the Kandu Arts charity. The North American version of Northern Star was released on 21 August 2000 and included the single versions of "Never Be The Same Again" and "I Turn To You". In late 2000, after the first solo work of members, the Spice Girls released their third and final album, Forever, sporting a new edgier R&B sound. "Holler" and "Let Love Lead the Way" were released as singles on 23 October 2000 and the songs reached number 1 in the UK. The album sold 5 million copies. The group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus. In the same year, the Chinese singer FanFan recorded a Chinese version of "Suddenly Monday" from her debut album FanFan's World.

Chisholm embarked in her first world tour, the Northern Star Tour, between late 2000 and 26 August 2001, to promote her debut album. The tour travelled in 76 dates, 30 countries and 4 continents, just not going to Oceania and South America. The Shepherd's Bush Empire concert was webcast on Chisholm's original website with a special appearance of Bryan Adams. On 4 April 2001, The audio of the Anaheim concert also was webcast on House of Blues' website. In 2001, Chisholm collaborated in the live album of Russell Watson, The Voice – Live, as featured vocals in the songs "Barcelona" and "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?".

Chisholm began recording her second album in November 2001. She travelled to the United States to record some songs. During this time, she also recorded "Independence Day" from the film soundtrack Bend It Like Beckham and wrote "Help Me Help You" for Holly Valance, included in her album Footprints. Chisholm, along with Anastacia made an appearance at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards to present the award for "Best Song", which was given to P!nk.

Chisholm's second album was postponed to 10 March 2003. Chisholm also took time out due to struggles with clinical depression. On 24 February 2003 the first single from her new album was released, "Here It Comes Again", which reached number 7 in the UK and peaked in the top 20 in Spain and Ireland. She released her second studio album, Reason, on 10 March 2003 and it peaked at number 5, received Gold certification in the UK. The label sent Chisholm to promote the album, including several pocket shows. On 24 April 2003, she embarked in the Reason Tour, travelling only in Europe. The second single, "On the Horizon", was released on 2 June 2003. After the previous single, music critics were predicting that this single would redeem Chisholm's chart success, but the song peaked at number 14 and did not help sales.

"Let's Love", was released as a single exclusively in Japan and used for a Toyota commercial. Alongside promoting the album, Chisholm competed on the reality sports game show The Games. On 11 September 2003, during a taping of The Games, Chisholm competed in a judo match with Turkish-Dutch actress Azra Akin, which resulted in Chisholm injuring her knee. Because of this, the song "Yeh Yeh Yeh", which was planned to be released as the third and final single on 22 September 2003, had to be pushed back because she could not fully promote an upbeat song with an injury. "Melt" was then chosen to be launched along with "Yeh Yeh Yeh" as a double A-side, because she could do a small number of performances. The double single was released on 10 November 2003. The song peaked at number 27. In other countries of Europe, "Melt" wasn't released, only "Yeh Yeh Yeh" as a solo release. After the release of "Melt/Yeh Yeh Yeh", Chisholm added some extra dates to the Reason Tour, and the Avo Session Basel concert was broadcast on 3sat.

Chisholm was in a relationship with property developer Thomas Starr for ten years, until they split in 2012. In February 2009, Chisholm gave birth to a daughter. In an interview with the BBC, Chisholm admitted that the arrival of her child proved to be a turning point in her life: "Being a mum was so liberating because for the first time in my adult life, it wasn't all about me. It made me not only realise I had a huge responsibility to her but I have a huge responsibility to myself. In being her teacher, I had to treat myself better." From 2015 to 2022, Chisholm dated her manager, Joe Marshall. Since 2023, Chisholm has been in a relationship with Australian model/actor Chris Dingwall. The couple married in a legal ceremony in Australia, in June 2026; they had a second ceremony on 18 July 2026 in the Lake District, England. Chisholm wore a dress designed by Victoria Beckham.

In 1997, Chisholm had a month-long relationship with singer Robbie Williams. In 1998, she was reported to have had a relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis; Chisholm stated in 2022 they had only been friends. Kiedis wrote "Emit Remmus", which is "summer time" spelled backwards, inspired by his relationship with Chisholm. The song was included on the album Californication.

Chisholm has been open about her experiences with clinical depression and an eating disorder. She spoke of her eating disorder to Contact Music, stating, "I'd hammered the gym for three hours a day. It was a way of running away, not thinking. I felt like a robot. When the papers started calling me 'Sumo Spice', I was only a size 10. But I was so upset by all the criticism, it got worse and I went up to a size 14." In a 2022 interview with The Cut, Chisholm elaborated, "It took me such a long time to recover. I would never want to be arrogant enough to say I'm all better because I'm always aware that they could come back. I've really learned how to look after myself. Sometimes, a healthy work-life balance is impossible to maintain. There are times, if I'm very tired or work's very stressful, I can feel things slipping. We all talk about self-care, but it is so vital for me to keep me on track with everything".

Chisholm is a fan of Liverpool F.C. and an amateur triathlete, having completed the London Triathlon twice.

While promoting her Who I Am autobiography in September 2022, Chisholm revealed that she had been sexually assaulted in 1997, during a massage in a hotel in Turkey, on the eve of the first Girl Power! Live in Istanbul show. On Elizabeth Day's podcast, How to Fail, Chisholm said: "I treat[ed] myself to a massage in the hotel and what happened to me, I kind of buried immediately because there were other things to focus on [...] I didn't want to make a fuss but also I didn't have time to deal with it. I felt violated, I felt very vulnerable, I felt embarrassed [...] I do want to talk about it because it has affected me. But I buried it."

On 29 August 2024, Chisholm was the subject of the BBC One genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?.

In 2000, all proceeds from sales of her "If That Were Me" single went towards the Kandu Arts charity. In 2012, Chisholm joined the Sport Relief telethon by appearing in a Never Mind the Buzzcocks special. Chisholm also participated in a three-mile "Sport Relief Mile" run. In 2013, Chisholm joined Jack Dee, Dara Ó Briain, Greg James, Chelsee Healey and Philips Idowu in Through Hell and High Water, a Comic Relief challenge which involved British celebrities canoeing the most difficult rapids of the Zambezi River. They raised over £1 million for the charity. In 2014, Chisholm travelled to Ghana to support a charity campaign by Procter & Gamble that provides African children with clean drinking water. The project involved the use of purification sachets that changes the water from stagnant to drinkable. Chisholm also supported a homeless charity by donating funds raised from her annual calendar.