Samantha Fox

Fox's glamour modelling career began at age 16 when her mother took photographs of her wearing lingerie and submitted them to The Sunday People's "Face and Shape of '83" amateur modelling contest. After Fox placed second in the contest, a photographer for The Sun invited her to pose topless for Page 3.[6][8][9] British publications could then legally feature topless models aged 16 and older; the minimum age was raised to 18 in 2003.[10] Fox said she was grateful for the opportunity, since many people in her area were unemployed or had "rough, low-paying jobs”. She had previously considered joining the police force, but at 1.55 m (5' 1") tall, she did not meet the height requirements then in place.[11] She stated that she was comfortable with appearing topless, having become accustomed to removing her top on European beaches.[12]

Fox's first Page 3 photograph appeared in The Sun on 22 February 1983, under the headline "Sam, 16, Quits A-Levels for Ooh-Levels".[13][10] She went on to sign a four-year modelling contract with The Sun,[14] during which she was named "Page 3 Girl of the Year" for three consecutive years from 1984–86.[15] During her modelling career, she insured her breasts for £1 million.[16] She claims to have been sexually assaulted by David Cassidy in 1985, while appearing in one of his music videos and modelling for an accompanying photoshoot.[17] She also made modelling appearances in multiple men's magazines.

Fox left Page 3 in 1986, aged 20, to focus on her singing career. She made occasional glamour modelling appearances later in her career, including a nude photoshoot for the October 1996 issue of Playboy magazine when she was aged 30.[18] She is recognised today as the most popular pin-up girl of her era, and one of the most photographed British women of the 1980s.[19]

Fox attempted to launch a music career in 1983. Her first single, credited to S.F.X., was a cover version of the 1981 Lesley Jayne song "Rocking with My Radio", released on the Lamborghini Records label. It was produced by Ian Gillan Band and Spencer Davis Group member Ray Fenwick, who also wrote the B-side, "My Old Man". Fox continued her collaboration with Fenwick, releasing her second single, "Aim to Win", under her own name in 1984. Neither of these singles was successful. Fox later said that "[Lamborghini Records] didn't really have a clue in those days and I didn't either". However, she said that performing live gave her useful experience for her later musical career.[7] Songs from both her early Lamborghini Records singles were included as bonus tracks on the 2012 deluxe reissue of her album Touch Me.[20]

Two years later, Fox was invited to an open audition for Jive Records, which was seeking a "British Madonna" to record the single "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)".[21] It offered Fox a five-album deal.[21] Released in March 1986, the single became an instant hit, reaching the top 10 across Europe and topping the charts in multiple countries. In the UK, the song reached number 3 in the charts.[22] The single also performed well in the United States, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[23] Her second single, "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)", also reached the top 10 in the UK. Her debut album, Touch Me, peaked at number 17 in the UK and charted all over Europe, reaching number one in Finland.[24] The album received mixed reviews from music critics, although Fox claimed that critics routinely disapproved of attractive artists; she called female reviewers "plain, drab women without any sex appeal" and claimed that "most male music critics ... look like Elvis Costello".[12]

Her second album, Samantha Fox, released in 1987, featured the hit singles "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (UK #8) and "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" (US #3). The former song was produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, while the latter was remixed by US production duo Full Force. At the Brit Awards 1988, she was nominated in the British Female Solo Artist category alongside Kate Bush, Alison Moyet, Sinitta, and Kim Wilde. The award went to Moyet.[3] Her third album, I Wanna Have Some Fun, released later in 1988, featured the hits "I Only Wanna Be With You" (UK #16) and "I Wanna Have Some Fun" (US #8). The album also charted in both the UK and US. By the end of the decade, Fox had achieved three top-10 singles in both the UK and US and three gold albums in the latter. She continued to have notable success in Australia and Europe.

Fox's father managed her career until 1991, when she hired accountants to trace over £1 million that she believed he had embezzled from her accounts. Her father had moved her money into offshore bank accounts, and had not paid tax on Fox's earnings for 10 years.[8] She sued and was awarded a £363,000 court settlement in 1995.[25] However, the funds from the court settlement were used to settle her tax bill.[11]

Fox's record sales declined sharply after the 1980s. She released three further studio albums, Just One Night in 1991, 21st Century Fox in 1997, and Angel with an Attitude in 2005, but none produced any hits. A Greatest Hits album was issued in 2009, both in single and double CD formats.[26] In 2012, her first four albums were remastered and reissued as double deluxe CDs by Cherry Red, with the addition of remixes and previously unreleased tracks.[27] In 2022, Fox announced that she was working on a seventh studio album, produced by Ian Masterson, that would include a song she co-wrote with the late Steve Strange as well as songs co-written with Ricky Wilde, brother of Kim Wilde.[28]

In addition to her solo career, Fox collaborated with Cris Bonacci (former lead guitarist for the all-female rock band Girlschool) and Lauraine McIntosh to form the short-lived band Sox and enter A Song for Europe, the UK's pre-selection competition for the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest. Their entry, "Go for the Heart," came in fourth place out of eight songs.[29] Sox released the song as a single before disbanding.[30] Fox collaborated on "Santa Maria" by DJ Milano, a 1997 cover version of the original 1995 song by Croatian-Dutch model and singer Tatjana. She collaborated with Swedish singer Günther, who recorded a cover version of her 1986 hit "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" for his 2004 album Pleasureman. His version features new vocals by Fox, who also appeared in the music video.

In August 2023, she embarked on a multi city US tour along with Bad Boys Blue and Boney M, which included stops in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and San Jose.[31] The shows were put together by Los Angeles based promoters LA Concert Group.[32]

Fox and Mick Fleetwood co-presented the Brit Awards 1989. Televised live by the BBC, the broadcast has been described as "chaotic" and an "epic shambles".[33][34] The presenters repeatedly missed cues and made incorrect introductions, including failing to show a recorded message from Michael Jackson and introducing Boy George as the Four Tops.[33] Fox later claimed that the presenters were given cards containing incorrect information, that the autocue was malfunctioning,[33] that Bros fans disrupted the show with continuous screaming, and that her co-presenter was "out of it".[34]

In 1990, Fox appeared on the American sitcom Charles in Charge as Samantha Steele, a fictional rock star. She also featured in The Match (1999), 7 Cases (2015), and the comedy horror film Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017). In 1995 she guest-starred in the Hindi film Rock Dancer.

In 2008, Fox and her then-partner Myra Stratton took part in Celebrity Wife Swap, exchanging with Freddie Starr and his wife Donna. In November 2009, she participated in ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!; she was voted out on day 16. In 2010, she appeared in a celebrity episode of Come Dine with Me with Calum Best, Janice Dickinson, and Jeff Brazier. In 2016, she featured in Celebrity Big Brother 18, finishing in seventh place. In 2023, she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef.[35]