b. Geraldine Estelle Halliwell, 6 August 1972, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, although her date of birth has been the subject of some conjecture. Halliwell's time as part of the Spice Girls, the pop phenomenon of the late 90s, has effectively set her up for life. Before joining the band her varied CV included stints as a topless model and, bizarrely, a Turkish game show host. As a member of the Spice Girls, Halliwell enjoyed huge transatlantic success with songs such as "Wannabe", "2 Become 1" and "Spice Up Your Life", and was viewed by many in the media as the band's de facto leader. Although featured on the band's August 1998 UK chart-topping single, "Viva Forever", Halliwell had actually left the band in May amid press rumours of disputes and personality clashes with the other members. In a remarkable volte-face, Halliwell shed the provocative outfits she had become famous for wearing in the Spice Girls in favour of a demure new image. Shortly afterwards she became a UN ambassador, responsible for promoting breast cancer awareness. EMI Records won the chase for Halliwell's signature in October 1998, and she set about recording her debut album with an exceptional team of session musicians and writers.
In a bold move, Halliwell released the Shirley Bassey-styled ballad "Look At Me" as her debut single in May 1999. Despite the song's obvious vocal limitations, it still managed to debut at UK number 2, although for many observers this was viewed as outright failure for an ex-Spice Girl. Schiz-ophonic proved to be a ragbag of musical influences, ranging from the token attempts at Latin ("Mi Chico Latino") and Eastern pop ("Let Me Love You"), to the more straightforward pop of "Lift Me Up" and "Bag It Up". The album debuted at UK number 4 in June, which was also viewed by many as a disappointing return. Halliwell had the last laugh, however, by going on to enjoy three consecutive UK chart-toppers with "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", and "Bag It Up". "Lift Me Up" won a highly publicised "battle of the singles" with her former bandmate Emma Bunton's dull cover version of Edie Brickell's "What I Am". She also published her autobiography, If Only.
The media blitz that promoted Halliwell's second album in 2001 was dizzying even by her standards, although her drastically slim new figure disturbed some people. Scream If You Wanna Go Faster adopted a more straightforward pop approach, epitomised by the UK chart-topping cover version of the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men". A role in the critically-panned comic strip adaptation The Fat Slags did little for Halliwell's career. She returned to the UK Top 5 in late 2004 with "Ride It", on which the singer was billed simply as Geri. Her surname had returned by the time her third album, Passion, was released the following June.
