Birth name: Sophie Charlene Akland Monk
Born: 14 December 1979 (1979-12-14) (age 30)England, UK
Origin: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Genres: Pop, dance
Occupations: Singer, songwriter, actress, model
Years active: 1999–present
Labels: Warner Music (2000-2004)
Associated acts: Bardot, Benji Madden
Sophie Charlene Akland Monk (born 14 December 1979) is an English-Australian pop singer, actress and model. She was once a member of female pop group Bardot and has since established a solo career with the release of an album, Calendar Girl. More recently, she turned her hand to acting, appearing in films such as Date Movie and Click.
Biography
Bardot:
Monk's professional music career began in 1999 when she responded to an advertisement at the recommendation of her mother which requested girls with vocal and dance experience. The advertisement was for the Australian television series, Popstars, a TV talent show which aimed to create a successful new girl group. Monk, who has been trained in classical and pop singing and has been performing since she was eight years old, drove all night to audition. In one audition, she performed a rendition of Marilyn Monroe's famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President", working on her previous experience as a Monroe impersonator at Warner Bros. Movie World. After numerous rounds of singing and dancing workshops, Monk was selected as a member of the group, which was named Bardot.
Bardot became the first Australian act to debut at the #1 position with both its debut single, "Poison", and self-titled debut album. Further singles "I Should've Never Let You Go" and "These Days" followed and in August, the group embarked on its first national tour. Bardot performed at the 2000 ARIA Awards at which they were nominated in three categories.
In July 2001, the group released "ASAP", the first single from their second album. Bardot now had more control over their music and image. The single peaked Top 5, as did follow-up single, "I Need Somebody", their most successful single since "Poison". The second album, Play It Like That debuted at #16, achieving gold status. Monk co-wrote the album track "Feel Right" with fellow bandmate Sally Polihronas. In 2002, final single, "Love Will Find A Way" completed Bardot's string of consecutive Top 20 hits and the group embarked on its second national tour. In May, the group disbanded.
Acting career:
Sophie Monk has since established herself in Hollywood. Although most of her roles have been reasonably small, she did play Marilyn Monroe for a high-budget telemovie The Mystery Of Natalie Wood (2004) and starred in the music video "Always" for rock group blink-182.
In February 2006, she starred in her debut feature role as the flirtatious and seductive 'best man' Andy in the spoof comedy Date Movie. A scene in the film sees Monk act out a parody of the infamous Paris Hilton burger advertisement, somewhat ironic now since her ex-fiancée started dating Hilton in 2008.
June 2006 saw the release of the Adam Sandler film Click, a story about a universal remote control. The film debuted at #1 on both the US and Australian box office charts. Monk plays a small role in this film; Stacey, David Hasselhoff's flirtatious, bimbo secretary who she described in an interview as "... kind of a floozy that kind of just works there because she gets around a bit. Another serious character".
In 2007 she appeared in HBO's Entourage episode "The Day Fuckers", which included a sex scene with Vincent Chase. Also in 2007, Monk played the role of Cynthia Rose in the dark comedy Sex and Death 101, written and directed by Daniel Waters. The film stars fellow Australian actor Simon Baker and Winona Ryder, and received a straight-to-DVD release on 5 March 2008.
In the upcoming Warner Bros. comedy Spring Breakdown she plays "Mason Masters". Monk describes her character as "... the head of the evil girls. I'm like the evil bitch that everyone wants to be like and they all end up hating her." The film was released Straight-to-DVD on June 2, 2009 to mixed to negative reviews. She is also set to star in Spring Break '83 as Brittany.
In 2009 she appeared as Alexa in the Horror film The Hills Run Red. The film was released Straight-to-DVD received mixed to positive reviews from numerous critics. She is set to appear in films such as Spring Break '83, The Legend of Awesomest Maximus and Hard Breakers. In 2007 she signed on for the Horror film Murder World. The film co-starring Scout Taylor-Compton. The film which has been in development hell was previously set for release sometime in 2009. But after no announcement of a 2009 release the film is believed to be released in 2010.
Personal life:
Monk was born in England, but her parents moved to Australia's Gold Coast in Queensland. She also spent time at Somerset College and MacGregor State High School[1]. At MacGregor State High School,she was a School Captain in her senior year (1997), and was enlisted in the school's CAD (Center of Artistic Development) Program. Prior to, during and after her experience as a member of Popstars, Monk dated Chris Cooper from Tasmania, with whom she split shortly before moving to the United States. Sophie Monk is a vegetarian.
Monk has had a tabloid-reported private life, including a period dating actor Jude Law. Monk started dating Benji Madden in 2006, but in January 2008, media outlets reported that the couple had split up. Monk had returned to Australia alone, almost a year to the day since Madden proposed. On February 12, 2008 it was officially announced by Monk's Sydney agent, Yoon Kim, that "Sophie and Benji have officially split. The decision was mutual and they remain amicable."
In Feb. 2010 Sophie Monk was photographed in a wheelchair following a car crash in her adopted Los Angeles.
Friday, April 9, 2010
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