Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British TV presenter and former fashion model. She is the girlfriend of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.
[edit] Early lifeAlexa Chung was raised in Privett, Hampshire by her English mother, a housewife, and her Chinese father, a graphic designer. She is the youngest of four children and has two brothers and one sister. Her elder brother is DJ Dom Chung. She attended the local comprehensive school, Perins Community College, and later the sixth form Peter Symonds College, Winchester (1999-2001). She had been accepted by King’s College London to read English and by Chelsea College of Art and Design to do an art foundation course, with two 'A' grades (English and Art) and a 'B' (History) at A-level, before being scouted by a modelling agency.[1][2] [edit] ModellingChung was first scouted by an agency, Elite Model Management, while attending The Clothes Show at the age of 14, but nothing came of it. She was approached again, in the comedy tent at Reading Festival, at the age of 16 and was taken on by the London-based Storm Model Management. She modelled for teen magazines such as Elle Girl and CosmoGIRL! and appeared in adverts for products including Fanta, Sony Ericsson, Sunsilk and Tampax.[3] She also modelled for Urban Outfitters.[4] She appeared in music videos for artists including The Streets, Westlife, Delta Goodrem, Reuben and Holly Valance. She also starred as Jake in a scripted reality show called Shoot Me, broadcast on Fashion TV in 2005.[5] Chung herself admitted it was “really bad”.[6] After four years, Chung quit modelling with the intention of beginning an art foundation or fashion journalism course,[7] having become disillusioned. She had developed a “distorted body image”[8] and “low self-esteem” through modelling. “It made me really unhappy.” She has since said that, “I’ve used up all that neurosis – there’s none left. I’d rather have a bigger brain than smaller bones.”[8] In January 2008, Chung was announced as the face of Antipodium's Spring Summer 2008 collection, which is on sale at Liberty and Harvey Nichols.[9] In May 2008, Chung was announced as the face of Oxfam's ethical fashion range, Revamped, sold exclusively at Westbourne Grove, West London.[10] In September 2008, Chung walked the catwalk as part of the Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring/Summer 2009 show at London Fashion Week. [edit] TV careerChung first auditioned as a T4 presenter when she was 18 but “didn’t get anywhere because I was hideously Hampshire, going “Ya, ya”, and thinking I was really funny”. When the original Popworld presenters, Miquita Oliver and Simon Amstell left in 2006, Chung’s audition tape was reviewed and, in April 2006, she was offered the job of co-host, alongside former MTV presenter Alex Zane. Popworld was known for its witty, irreverent and awkward style of interviews. An interview Chung conducted with Panic at the Disco, in particular, attracted attention. “I corrected singer Brendon Urie’s grammar halfway through and then it all went a bit cold. He got pi**ed off after that. The clip is on YouTube and about 10,000 American kids have left comments saying: ‘Oh my God, who does she think she is? I hate the English.’ Which is amusing.”[11] The last show aired in July 2007, after Channel 4 decided not to recommission the programme.[12] Chung and Zane also presented a weekly, internet-streamed radio show called Popworld Radio from September 2006 to May 2007, in conjunction with the TV programme.[13] The programme was awarded the Sony Radio Academy Award's Bronze Music prize, who said it had "a style and tone of its own that encompasses rich content, insightful interviewing and original presentation.” [14] In April 2007, Chung starred in the ITV1 series Get a Grip, opposite comedian Ben Elton. The topical satirical show, scripted by Elton, was panned by television critics. In August 2007, Chung signed a year-long "golden handcuffs" deal with Channel 4, worth £100,000.[15] As part of this deal, she guest presented Big Brother’s Big Mouth, presented T4’s coverage of V Festival, T in the Park and T4 on the Beach and appeared as a panellist on quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats. She hosts a number of T4 Movie Specials, 4Music Specials, along with T4 Holiday Mornings.[16] In September 2007, Chung began presenting Channel 4’s early morning music programme Freshly Squeezed, with alternating co-hosts Nick Grimshaw and Rick Edwards. The show airs on weekdays at 7am. In December 2007, she was at number 18 in Broadcast's Hot 100 Talent list.[17] In January 2008, Chung became one of four anchor T4 presenters, following the departure of June Sarpong. Chung was the host of T4’s Vanity Lair, a ten-week reality show that aimed to explore contemporary notions of what being a beautiful person really means.[18] When the show was mentioned in a later interview, "Chung raises her eyebrows, indicating embarrassment." She presented BBC Three's The Wall which began in April 2008, along with Rhys Thomas. The eight-week live show featured comedy, sketches, chat and music performances.[19] Chung has also hosted industry events including the Hair Magazine Awards 2007, Diesel U Music Awards 2007 and the Elle Style Awards 2008. Chung was the "roving reporter" on Channel 4's eight-week fashion programme, "Gok's Fashion Fix".[20] On the programme, Chung roadtested the latest fashion trends with members of the public, and interviewed fashion designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier, Margherita Missoni and Christian Lacroix. She has described it as 'pretty much my dream job'.[21] Chung also hosted a T4 music and fashion show called Frock Me!, with fashion designer Henry Holland.[22] In November 2008, it was reported that Chung was considering a move to New York to host a TRL-style show for MTV.[23] [edit] ColumnistChung wrote a monthly column for British women’s magazine Company from October 2007 to June 2008. She currently writes a weekly newspaper column for The Independent, 'Girl About Town', which is published every Wednesday. [edit] "It Girl" StatusIn 2007, Chung came to the attention of the fashion press for her quirky style and frequently appears on Best Dressed Lists. She has said of her style, “I either want to look like an excellently dressed boy or a kitten from the 1960s, like Françoise Hardy.” Chung has also mentioned The Shirelles, Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithful,[24] Jane Birkin and Julie Christie[25] as sources of style inspiration, as well as 1960s and 1970s films such as Doctor Zhivago (film), Picnic at Hanging Rock (film), Annie Hall[24], Darling, Masculin, féminin and Blowup[7]. Chung has expressed bemusement regarding the widespread admiration of her style, saying, "It’s odd to have acquired this style icon tag, because everyone in Shoreditch dresses the same".[7] Chung, according to the Sunday Times’ Style magazine, “is a must-have at any self-respecting fashionable party” and socialises with many well-known faces including supermodel Agyness Deyn, Kelly Osbourne, Pixie and Peaches Geldof, Trash Pussies’ Fifi Brown, TV presenter Nick Grimshaw, musician Devonte Hynes, model Valentine Fillol-Cordier as well as indie bands such as The Like, Fields and The Kills. However, she has said the idea of lots of celebrity friends is "so cheesy".[26] Chung has dismissed the notion of being an It girl, saying “I mean, there’s not much to being an It girl. It’s really quite a depressing title to hold.” She has, however, conceded that, "It’s actually rather nice, because you are sent some pretty cool stuff"[7] She has also expressed concerns of becoming overexposed, due to the increased media interest. "I don't want to shove my face down everyone's throat. Because I always got bored with reading Heat and Hello! seeing the same faces around. I don't want to be famous for going out...It's very difficult if you're in the middle of something to see it clearly and I don't have any idea of what it looks like from the outside or how I'm perceived...I'm sure there'll be some new whippersnapper coming up pretty soon, with a snappy new haircut, and wearing Marni, and vintage T-shirts".[2] [edit] RelationshipsWhile modelling, Chung met photographer, and singer with 80s pop group Blue Mercedes, David Titlow (born September 10, 1963), who is twenty years her senior. She dated him for 3 and a half years. Titlow has said, "We lived together for about three years and broke up when she had to go off and do her own thing. Now our paths occasionally cross through work, which is cool, and she always lets me shoot an extra roll of her being “normal.”".[27] In September 2006, Chung was spotted “snogging the Horrors singer Faris Badwan” at a London nightclub.[28] She interviewed his band, in their first television appearance, for Popworld. The irreverent interview, in which Chung appeared as the fictitious Katie Marshall and wondered whether the band would be "Hair today, gone tomorrow" , angered some Horrors fans.[29] Badwan defended Chung in a post on his band's message board, saying she was being "unfairly blamed". He accused the show's producer of editing together "the worst parts". He claimed that Chung had "specifically asked him not to stitch us up". "I am currently seeing Alexa. Why would she try to make me look stupid?"[30] This relationship ended in February/March 2007. In late March/early April 2007, Chung began dating James Righton, vocalist and keyboard player with Klaxons.[31] In June 2007, Righton confirmed that the relationship had ended.[32] During an interview with the London Paper in February 2008, Righton said of the relationship, "We were busy doing other things and sometimes things don't work out. We still keep in touch and Alex (Turner) is a friend of mine and there's no problems at all. They're a really good couple." Chung was then linked with Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins, whom she had interviewed on numerous occasions for both Popworld and a 4Music Special. In September 2006, she had illustrated the cover of a Lostprophets single, A Town Called Hypocrisy,[33][34] but was keen to point out that out that it was not used "because I'm a celebrity or anything, they just liked it". In June 2007, Watkins made an unannounced appearance on Big Brother's Big Mouth, which Chung was presenting.[35] In early July 2007, The Sun newspaper reported that Chung had coupled up with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner at Scotland's T in the Park music festival.[36] The Sun’s report was backed up by the Times’ journalist Craig McLean who reported seeing Turner “sitting outside on a bench in the gloom, legs entwined with comely Channel 4 Popworld presenter Alexa Chung.”[37] The story was denied by Ian Watkins’ spokesperson, who told the Daily Mirror that his client and Chung had been seeing each other “for about a year”. A “good friend” told the tabloid that the pair had been “close for months”.[38] The spokesperson's comments caused confusion regarding the timeline of Chung's relationships, implying that she had been dating Watkins during her relationships with both Badwan and Righton. In late August 2007, Chung split with Watkins.[39] Chung alluded to the rumours of infidelity at T in the Park when she said of her budding relationship with Turner, “It was awkward the way things came out – I didn’t want to offend or upset other people.” Chung was first pictured with Alex Turner in early October 2007, outside the Met Bar in London.[40] The couple have been photographed by paparazzi on numerous occasions since and their relationship is frequently gossiped about in British tabloids. In August 2008, Chung starred in the video for Turner’s side-project band The Last Shadow Puppets’ song My Mistakes Were Made For You.[41] In October 2008, it was reported that the couple share a house in East London.[42] Chung has also been romantically linked with model Jamie Dornan and actors Adam Brody and Josh Hartnett, but she has dismissed these as rumours. [edit] Charity/Campaign WorkChung has supported numerous charities including the Terrence Higgins Trust, World AIDS Day,[43] Friends of the Earth's The Big Ask,[44] Product Red,[45] Greenpeace [46] and Attitude is Everything[47] In December 2007, Chung designed a condom tin for Company magazine to help "convince people to carry condoms".[48] In January 2008, Chung designed a range of jewellery for Made Boutique, a Fair Trade organisation, which she is often seen wearing.[49] In May 2008, Chung was announced as the brand ambassador for Oxfam's ethical fashion boutiques[50] In November 2008, Chung teamed up with activist movement Ctrl.Alt.Shift and VICE Magazine to launch a photographic initiative encouraging youngsters to get behind the lens. Chung will be one of five mentors, including Nan Goldin who will work with artists aged 18-25 to explore the global issues of gender, power and poverty through photography. The project will take the form of a national competition, and winners will have their work exhibited in a London gallery and featured in VICE and Ctrl.Alt.Shift magazines. [51] [edit] Filmography
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