Michelle Heaton was born in Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne on 19th July 1979.

From the age of 3 she attended Sandra Ravely’s Stage and Dance School where she learnt the basics to aid in acting and dance.

From the age of 9 to 17 she sang every year in the Haven holiday talent search, each year winning the regional finals, not only in the talent search but also the beauty competition.

Michelle attended Emmanuel College between 11 and 18 where she acted in the yearly school productions and sang solo every year in their Christmas Carol services and presentation evenings which took place in Newcastle City Hall.

Michelle left Emmanuel College with 11 GCSEs, an advanced GNVQ in business and an A-level in economics. However, she decided to follow her passion on stage by studying drama and performing arts at Newcastle College, where she graduated with distinction.

On leaving college she had a brief career as a dancer while auditioning for singing and acting jobs all around the country. Over the next 2 years Michelle appeared and acted in TV programmes such as Crimewatch (acting in the reconstructions), BBC documentaries, Heartbeat and Newcastle's favourite, Byker Grove to name but a few.

In 2000, ITV’s Popstars was a nationwide talent search to find the next big pop group called ‘Hearsay’. Although Michelle made it to the final 10 she (fortunately, as it turned out), did not make it to the final 5 because,  along with the other 4 contestants, they went on to form the hugely successful pop group Liberty X.

For almost 7 years the band received many accolades, including 9 top 10 singles, a Brit award, Disney award and a Smash Hits award.

During her time in Liberty X, Michelle’s talent as a TV presenter was recognised and she became a regular on many shows including several appearances on TOONATTICK, GMTV, CDUK, SMTV, ITV2 and many others. Michelle was also one half of one of ITV2's most successful shows of 2006 called Michelle and Andy’s Big Day.

IN 2007 Michelle was seen returning to her much loved roots as she appeared on stage in the UK’s most successful pantomime of the year 'CINDERELLA' in the North East alongside Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney and Les Dennis.

Upon leaving the band in 2007, Michelle's TV career has gone from strength to strength and has included many talk shows in both the UK and Ireland, and has also included her participating in Celebrity Big Brother 2009, Channel 4's Celebrity Come Dine With Me, co-presenting for two weeks on the popular ITV2 spin off show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here Now, and many Irish TV Shows, including Failte Towers, Xpose, The Apprentice, Podge & Rodge and of course her six month run as a judge in the hugely popular RTE show You're a Star alongside judge Keith Duffy from Boyzone. You're a Star received high recognition and Michelle won an award for the most successful show on Irish TV that year. Also, Michelle and her fiancé Hugh were nominated for ‘most stylish couple’ at the VIP awards 2010, and Michelle was also nominated for the ‘best new talent to TV’ at the Irish TV awards last year.

Over recent months Michelle has decided to take a low profile in the media in her attempt to concentrate on her passions of TV presenting, acting and singing. She lives in Dublin, Ireland with her fiancé Hugh Hanley, (they are regularly in OK! Magazine for various features, including front cover for their recent engagement) but regularly travels back and forth to London for business and still has a home there.

2010 will be an exciting year for Michelle as she focuses on even more challenges, including running the London Marathon after being hand picked by Richard Branson to take part in his team of 10 people running for Virgin Unite. She is also studying personal training and nutrition and has already passed the first module which means she is already a licensed personal trainer and fitness instructor including aerobics, dance step and weight work.

Michelle would like 2010 to be the year she goes back to where she belongs - on stage and on TV.