The Only Way Is Essex beauty
on her rise to stardom
Essex royalty .... Amy Childs looks stunning in a Bra Queen set
BRA QUEEN/www.tesco.com/clothingPublished: 29th October 2011
THIS time last year barely anyone had heard of Amy Childs.
TOWIE wowie ... Amy Childs models Tesco's new Bra Queen undies
BRA QUEEN/www.tesco.com/clothingBut after she appeared in the hit ITV2 show The Only Way Is Essex, the beautician's career has gone stellar — so much so that she is now hiring her own SECURITY team.
This week The Sun reported how TOWIE sisters Sam and Billie Faiers were attacked by a girl gang on a night out in London.
Sam, 20, needed a brain scan and was left with two black eyes and a split nose after being kicked and punched unconscious and Billie was left with cuts and bruises.
Amy, 21, told The Sun: "I spoke to Billie and Sam and told them I was always there for them if they needed anything at all. They're fine, just a bit bruised at the moment.
"But it does make me worry for my own safety. Everyone sees us as celebrities now, even though we don't see ourselves like that. Billie and Sam certainly don't.
"We are in the public eye and even going out now I'm careful. I went to the Sugar Hut nightclub the other night and I did actually need security. I was with my mum and people were pulling at me and crowding round.
"You also have to be careful about the possibility of people spiking your drink. I don't put my drink down but with everyone calling you and pulling you it would be so easy for someone to put something in there.
"And you get girls who are like, 'Oh my God, look at the state of her, who does she think she is?' You get such jealous girls out there.
"It's so terrible that it's happened to Sam and Billie but for all of us it's a real wake-up call."
With her Bambi eyes and a figure to die for, it's no surprise Amy has been snapped up for a string of lucrative telly and modelling jobs.
She has just landed a deal to be the face and body of new lingerie range Bra Queen — designed for Tesco by Michelle Mone — and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
After quitting TOWIE in August, Amy went into the Celebrity Big Brother house, then landed her own reality show following her life.
She also has a calendar in the shops and her own clothing range — Amy Childs Collection — which was unveiled to the public for the first time yesterday and will be available on her website, amychildsofficial.co.uk, from Monday.
As well as Big Brother, this year she was also approached to take part in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice and she even featured in Vogue.
Amy said: "I pinch myself every day of my life with what's going on at the minute. A year ago I was filming for TOWIE and I wasn't in the Press at all. Now it's amazing but strange at the same time.
"I still can't believe all the attention or that people say I'm a celebrity. It's funny, people shout, 'There's Amy Childs'. People want autographs and pictures with me.
"And yesterday I launched my clothes on the catwalk at Britain's Next Top Model Live — who would have thought it?"
Behind the TOWIE fake tan and eyelashes is a woman with real drive. Amy said: "In the last year I really have become ambitious.
"When I was a beautician I wanted a nice life and a successful business but now it's a question of what I should bring out next. I'm always looking ahead — you have to — to have a good career.
"Since I was 14 I've worked in a beauty salon at the weekends. I loved it. Since I was seven I wanted to be a beautician. My mum's a hairdresser and she does old ladies' hair and I'd be going round to their houses too, painting their fingernails and toes green. I had such a passion for it so when I was 16 and left school I knew what I wanted to do.
"But you definitely have to work for it and now I call myself a businesswoman. I can't believe I'm opening a new beauty salon."
Some reports have predicted Amy will earn up to £10million from endorsements and TV shows in the next few years and she is shocked at her sudden increase in fortunes.
She said: "Everyone would like to be a millionaire and you never know. I'm so enjoying what I'm doing at the minute but if I am a millionaire, oh my God, I'd be shocked. It would be amazing though."
Amy is also, of course, responsible for bringing the vajazzle — a bikini wax with added stick-on sparkles — to the nation's attention. She said: "When I go to Essex I get, 'Show us your vajazzle' all the time. The producers asked me what I did, I told them about the vajazzle and that was it.
"I brought it into this country. A year ago no one knew what it was, now it's vajazzle this and vajazzle that."
Other expressions coined by Amy include 'well jel', or well jealous, a phrase that caught on immediately.
She said: "Jel was my word. I created it, it was my catchphrase.
"I said in one episode of TOWIE, 'Why are you getting so jel?' and that was it.
"That night my Twitter page went mad. I find it weird more than anything that people know what I've been saying. All I've done is appear in a TV show and it went massive for all of us." But instant fame can have its downsides. Amy has more than 588,000 followers on her Twitter page — and not all of them post supportive messages.
She said: "Around 95 per cent of people on Twitter are lovely but the other five per cent are terrible. I get stuff like, 'No one likes you' and that people hate me. At first I was like, 'Oh my God, why are these people writing these things, they don't even know me.'
"But now I get on with it — you have to laugh at it. I block everyone who sends abuse, it's the best way to do it." Amy's busy work diary has left little time for romance since she split with boyfriend Joe Hurlock, who she started dating after breaking up with fellow TOWIE star Kirk Norcross.
She said: "I want to get married and have children young but I have to find someone first.
"I haven't got a boyfriend but I've got to be single at the minute because I'm just so busy.
"I've not even got time for my mum and dad at the minute. I haven't even got time to see my little dog. But I've got loads of time ahead, I'm only 21.
"With me you never know what will come next."
This week The Sun reported how TOWIE sisters Sam and Billie Faiers were attacked by a girl gang on a night out in London.
Sam, 20, needed a brain scan and was left with two black eyes and a split nose after being kicked and punched unconscious and Billie was left with cuts and bruises.
Amy, 21, told The Sun: "I spoke to Billie and Sam and told them I was always there for them if they needed anything at all. They're fine, just a bit bruised at the moment.
"But it does make me worry for my own safety. Everyone sees us as celebrities now, even though we don't see ourselves like that. Billie and Sam certainly don't.
A bit of all white ... Amy Childs
BRA QUEEN/www.tesco.com/clothing"You also have to be careful about the possibility of people spiking your drink. I don't put my drink down but with everyone calling you and pulling you it would be so easy for someone to put something in there.
"And you get girls who are like, 'Oh my God, look at the state of her, who does she think she is?' You get such jealous girls out there.
"It's so terrible that it's happened to Sam and Billie but for all of us it's a real wake-up call."
With her Bambi eyes and a figure to die for, it's no surprise Amy has been snapped up for a string of lucrative telly and modelling jobs.
She has just landed a deal to be the face and body of new lingerie range Bra Queen — designed for Tesco by Michelle Mone — and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
After quitting TOWIE in August, Amy went into the Celebrity Big Brother house, then landed her own reality show following her life.
She also has a calendar in the shops and her own clothing range — Amy Childs Collection — which was unveiled to the public for the first time yesterday and will be available on her website, amychildsofficial.co.uk, from Monday.
Bra-illiant photos ... Amy Childs sizzles in her lingerie
BRA QUEEN/www.tesco.com/clothingAs well as Big Brother, this year she was also approached to take part in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice and she even featured in Vogue.
Amy said: "I pinch myself every day of my life with what's going on at the minute. A year ago I was filming for TOWIE and I wasn't in the Press at all. Now it's amazing but strange at the same time.
"I still can't believe all the attention or that people say I'm a celebrity. It's funny, people shout, 'There's Amy Childs'. People want autographs and pictures with me.
"And yesterday I launched my clothes on the catwalk at Britain's Next Top Model Live — who would have thought it?"
Behind the TOWIE fake tan and eyelashes is a woman with real drive. Amy said: "In the last year I really have become ambitious.
"When I was a beautician I wanted a nice life and a successful business but now it's a question of what I should bring out next. I'm always looking ahead — you have to — to have a good career.
"Since I was 14 I've worked in a beauty salon at the weekends. I loved it. Since I was seven I wanted to be a beautician. My mum's a hairdresser and she does old ladies' hair and I'd be going round to their houses too, painting their fingernails and toes green. I had such a passion for it so when I was 16 and left school I knew what I wanted to do.
"But you definitely have to work for it and now I call myself a businesswoman. I can't believe I'm opening a new beauty salon."
Some reports have predicted Amy will earn up to £10million from endorsements and TV shows in the next few years and she is shocked at her sudden increase in fortunes.
Happy times ... Faiers sisters before the attack
Planet PhotosShe said: "Everyone would like to be a millionaire and you never know. I'm so enjoying what I'm doing at the minute but if I am a millionaire, oh my God, I'd be shocked. It would be amazing though."
Amy is also, of course, responsible for bringing the vajazzle — a bikini wax with added stick-on sparkles — to the nation's attention. She said: "When I go to Essex I get, 'Show us your vajazzle' all the time. The producers asked me what I did, I told them about the vajazzle and that was it.
Jazz'll do nicely ... Amy Childs in a scene from The Only Way Is Essex
ITV Other expressions coined by Amy include 'well jel', or well jealous, a phrase that caught on immediately.
She said: "Jel was my word. I created it, it was my catchphrase.
"I said in one episode of TOWIE, 'Why are you getting so jel?' and that was it.
"That night my Twitter page went mad. I find it weird more than anything that people know what I've been saying. All I've done is appear in a TV show and it went massive for all of us." But instant fame can have its downsides. Amy has more than 588,000 followers on her Twitter page — and not all of them post supportive messages.
Bruised ... Billie and Sam Faiers after attack
Louis Wood"But now I get on with it — you have to laugh at it. I block everyone who sends abuse, it's the best way to do it." Amy's busy work diary has left little time for romance since she split with boyfriend Joe Hurlock, who she started dating after breaking up with fellow TOWIE star Kirk Norcross.
She said: "I want to get married and have children young but I have to find someone first.
"I haven't got a boyfriend but I've got to be single at the minute because I'm just so busy.
"I've not even got time for my mum and dad at the minute. I haven't even got time to see my little dog. But I've got loads of time ahead, I'm only 21.
"With me you never know what will come next."