Sarah Harding

Sarah Nicole Harding (born Sarah Nicole Hardman, 17 November 1981) is an English pop singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud.

Early life and career

Harding was born in Ascot but grew up in Stockport with her two half brothers. She grew up in a musical household and has attributed her "musical genes" to her musician father, John Adam Hardman, who introduced her to the studio at a very young age. She attended Hazel Grove High School from 1993 to 1998, and later attended Stockport College where she studied hair.

She then worked as part of the promotions team for 2 nightclubs in The Grand Central Leisure Park in Stockport as well as waitressing at Pizza Hut, driving a van, debt collecting and as a BT telephone operator. She also toured North West England performing at pubs, social clubs, and caravan parks to support herself. In 2002, she was recording dance tracks when she decided to audition for Popstars: The Rivals She auditioned both for being a contestant on UK talent-search shows Fame Academy and Popstars: The Rivals and it was in the latter where she found fame, pulling out of Fame Academy after being accepted in the Popstars 1st round.

Harding also has an entry in FHM's High Street Honeys 2002, the magazine's national beauty contest, and her pictures appeared in the first Top 100, but she later withdrew, upon achieving success on Popstars. A year later, she was voted one of the Top 30 sexiest women in the world by readers of the same magazine. In 2005, she entered the same Top 10 at Number 8, slipping to Number 15 in 2006, to Number 17 in 2007, to number 36 in 2008, and to number 87 in 2009.

In March 2010 Harding announced her solo album, mentioning Lady Gaga as her biggest influence and inspiration.

Girls Aloud

Sarah Harding performing with Girls Aloud at the O2 in London (2008)

In the final of the Popstars The Rivals show, she was picked as the final member of the five-piece group, Girls Aloud. She defeated Javine Hylton for the final place, a result that provoked a measure of surprise.

As a member of Girls Aloud, Harding has taken part in many events and TV shows, such as the 25 August 2006 episode of The Friday Night Project. Harding co-hosted the show with Cheryl Cole, and Kimberley Walsh and then a Christmas special with Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle joining them. She is also the oldest member of the group.

She co-wrote two songs since in the group:

• "Hear Me Out" (What Will the Neighbours Say? album track)
• "Why Do It?" (B-side to "I Think We're Alone Now")

Discography

Albums

• 2003 – Sound of the Underground
• 2004 – What Will the Neighbours Say?
• 2005 – Chemistry
• 2007 – Tangled Up
• 2008 – Out of Control

Others

• 2006 – The Sound of Girls Aloud
• 2007 – Mixed Up
• 2008 – Girls A Live

DVD

• 2005 – Girls on Film
• 2005 – What Will The Neighbours Say:Live From Hammersmith Apollo
• 2006 – Girls Aloud: Off The Record
• 2006 – Chemistry Tour: Live From Wembley Arena 2006
• 2007 – Style
• 2008 – Tangled Up: Live From The O2 2008
• 2008 – Ghost Hunting With Girls Aloud
• 2009 — Out Of Control Tour : Live From The 02 2008

Solo

• 2008- "Real Wild Child" ("Wild Child: The Movie Soundtrack Party Album')
• 2009- "Too Bad" ("St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold - Original Soundtrack")
• 2009- "Make It Easy" ("St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold - Original Soundtrack")
• 2009- "Boys Keep Swinging" ("St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold - Original Soundtrack")

Writer

• "Hear Me Out" (What Will the Neighbours Say? album track)
• "Why Do It?" (B-side to "I Think We're Alone Now")

Other work

Outside of Girls Aloud, Harding signed a £100,000 deal to model Ultimo lingerie, following the likes of Penny Lancaster, Rachel Hunter and Helena Christensen.

Harding has been seen as the face of Coca-Cola Zero upon its launch in Ireland. She will also advertise and promote Sunsilk with the rest of Girls Aloud.

Harding collaborated with London synthpop band Filthy Dukes on the track "Real Wild Child" for the Wild Child soundtrack. It was released in August 2008. Harding sparked rumours with the move that she would be leaving Girls Aloud to pursue a solo career, a rumour she later denied. She has launched a new nightclub called Kanaloa. She has recorded three tracks on the film soundtrack to St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, released in 2009, in which she also stars.

In December 2009, Sarah appeared on MTV's 'Sarah Harding in 24 hours'. To promote this, Sarah also made a guest appearance on Radio One with Chris Moyles.

Acting Career

Harding made her first film appearance in St. Trinian's in 2007. She played a school band member along with her fellow band members of Girls Aloud.

In 2008, Harding took on an acting project in the feature film Bad Day. She played a brunette girl called Jade Jennings who sits in the back of a cab and swears down the phone. The film also stars Donna Air and Claire Goose.

In 2009, Girls Aloud went on a hiatus whilst each member took a break to focus on different projects. Harding decided to focus on embarking an acting career.

In the same year, Harding appeared in the television programme Freefall. She played a character called Sam.

Harding's latest film project currently was appearing in St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold. She played a new pupil called Roxy.

Filmography

Year	Title	Film/Television	Role	Other notes
2007	St. Trinian's	Film	School Band Member	Cameo
2008	Bad Day	Film	Jade Jennings	Supporting Character
2009	Freefall	T.V.	Sam	Supporting Character
	St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold	Film	Roxy	Main Character

External links

• Official Girls Aloud Website
• Vorlage:Imdb name