Kelly Brook (born Kelly Ann Parsons in Rochester, Kent, England, on 23 November 1979) is an English model, actress, occasional swimwear designer and television presenter. She is the daughter of Sandra, a cook, and Ken, a scaffolder. Ken Parsons died from cancer in November 2007, during Brook's time on Strictly Come Dancing. Kelly attended The Thomas Aveling School in Warren Wood, Rochester, Kent. She then studied at the Italia Conti stage school in London for three years before becoming a professional model.
Modelling career :Brook's modelling career began at 16 after winning a beauty competition that her mother entered her in. Following this success she worked on a range of advertising campaigns, including for Foster's Lager, Renault Megane, Walkers crisps, Piz Buin and Bravissimo, a company that specialises in bras and lingerie for large-breasted women. Her voluptuous figure eventually caught the eye of the editorial team of the Daily Star tabloid, which began featuring her as a Page Three girl.
Brook's picture soon began appearing in other lad mags such as GQ, Loaded and FHM. In April of the same year a poll over 5,000 women for Grazia magazine considered her to have the best British female body. She also topped the 'FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World' list in 2005, which was said to have polled 15 million people. She later ranked 5th in FHM's '100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006', 17th in 2007 and 34th in 2008.Brook has also done a large amount of commercial swimwear, sportswear and hosiery modeling. Her work for Triumph bras caused quite a stir because of specially commissioned 50-foot (15 m) high billboard of Brook's bust, said to be the largest billboard in the world.
In 2005, Brook posed for a ten-page, partially nude black-and-white photo spread for the photographer David Bailey, which appeared in the British design magazine Arena, in the November 2005 issue. In 2006 she signed a contract, reported to be worth around £1m, to present Unilever's Lynx body spray, known as Axe in the US and in continental Europe. She has appeared on billboards, in newspapers, and on-line as part of an advertising campaign.
She has also appeared in commercials for Sky + & T Mobile and most recently, modelled for Reebok.
Acting career :In 1997, she appeared in a Pulp video Help the Aged with Huck Whitney of the cult band The Flaming Stars, in a slow dance sequence.
Brook made her full screen debut with a minor role in the film Sorted, where she can be seen involved in a lesbian scene. Shortly thereafter she also appeared in the film Ripper. She played the girlfriend of Clark Kent/Superman's best friend Lex Luthor in four episodes of Warner Bros.' Smallville during the show's first season (2001 - 2002). She has also completed assignments as a movie actress in Canada and made a short appearance as Lyle's girlfriend in the 2003 movie The Italian Job.
Her first starring role was in School for Seduction, a 2004 film - she received positive reviews for her role, "Seduction offers a few twists on the rapidly degenerating format, not the least of which is the comely Brook in the lead role." In 2004 she also played character Nikki Morris in the video game Need for Speed Underground 2, alongside Brooke Burke.
In 2005 she appeared in the Philippe Vidal film House of 9, a thriller about nine seemingly unconnected strangers captured and locked in a house together. The people are forced to compete against one another, in order to survive. She caused a minor controversy in 2006 opposite Juan Pablo Di Pace whilst in the film Survival Island (also known as Three), also co-starring Billy Zane, who would later become her fiancé. Brook requested her nude scenes with Di Pace be excised from the final cut, which the producers refused to do.
In 2006, she also starred in a Marple drama on ITV and appeared as herself throughout the second series of Moving Wallpaper for ITV1, in 2009.
Personal life :Dated English actor Jason Statham for seven years before splitting in 2004. The couple lived together in Los Angeles and Herne Hill, south London.
Brook met American actor Billy Zane while filming thriller Survival Island in Greece in 2004. Brook and Zane were engaged to be married in the summer of 2008 and acquired a house in Kent, but Brook postponed the wedding upon the death of her father in November 2007. The couple split in April 2008 and briefly got back together before ending their relationship for good in August 2008.
Brook has been dating Wasps rugby player Danny Cipriani since September 2008.
