Childhood & Early Life
Samantha Karen Fox was born to John Fox and Carole Wilken in Mile End, London. Her parents were devout Christians and she was raised with staunch Christian beliefs from a very young age.
Born into a middle class family of market traders, she and her three siblings Vanessa, Frederica and Frankie, lived a very modest lifestyle.
From a very young age, she was interested in theatre and attended St. Thomas More RC School in Haringey and joined the specialist theatre school, Anna Scher Theatre School, at the age of 5.
Her debut appearance on television was with the BBC play, ‘No Way Out’ at the age of 10, after which, she joined the Mountview Theatre School.
She signed her first record deal with Lamborghini Records at the age of 15. Soon, she put her singing and her theatre career on stand-by and was offered a place in the world of modelling.
When she was 16, Samantha’s mother sent several of her daughter’s pictures to ‘The Sunday People’, for the ‘Girl of the Year’ contest. She was ranked second in the competition and consequently her music and theatre interests were put on hold.
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Career
In 1983, she released her first record, ‘Rockin’ With My Radio/My Old Man’ with her band, ‘S.F.X’. The following year, they released their second record, ‘Aim To Win/17 and Holding’, under Lamborghini Records.
She modelled for ‘The Sun’ as ‘Page 3’ pin-up girl and signed a two-year contract with the newspaper, earning around 2000 Sterling Pounds a week. However, there were other reports that claimed that she had signed a contract for five years. As a popular ‘Page 3’ girl, she has won numerous awards.
At the age of 20, after retiring from ‘The Sun’, she released her debut pop album, ‘Touch Me’, in 1986, which was certified gold by the RIAA and charted the music countdowns in UK and the US.
In 1987, she released the self-titled album, ‘Samantha Fox’, under the record label, ‘Jive Records’. Two singles from the album, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now’ and ‘Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) placed her at the top of the music charts in UK and USA.
She released her next studio album, ‘I Wanna Have Some Fun’, in 1988. The single ‘I Only Wanna Be With You’ was one of the biggest hits of the year and brought her immense fame.
In 1991, she released her fourth studio album, ‘Just One Night’, which failed to make waves in the music industry and was not well-received by critics and listeners.
From 1992 to 1998, she released a couple of albums such as ‘Greatest Hits’, and ‘21st Century Fox’, the latter being a eurodance-pop album. The album went on to become a big hit in clubs around Europe and although her first single, ‘Deeper’ failed to make a mark, it was her second single, ‘Let Me Be Free’ that brought her back to the top.
In 2003, she appeared on the reality show, ‘The Club’, where the celebrity contestants had to manage popular clubs successfully, while competing with each other.
In 2005, she released her next album, ‘Angel with an Attitude’, which was released under her record label ‘Fox Records’. Four years later, her first three albums were reissued in the United States with additional, bonus tracks.
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In 2008, she starred in the reality series, ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’. The following year, she starred in another reality show, ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’.
From 2010-2012, she collaborated with trance artist, ‘4 strings’ and released the single, ‘Forever.’
She is also working with Steve Strange and the R&B group, ‘Full Force’ for her next studio album. She is also currently working on her autobiography.
Major Works
In 1986, her signature single ‘Touch Me (I Want Your Body)’ from the album, ‘Touch Me’, peaked at the number 4 position in the United States music countdowns and number 3 in UK. The single was at the top of Canadian music charts for seven consecutive weeks and at the top of the Swedish music charts for eight weeks.
‘21st Century Fox’, released in 1998, under Ichiban Records, became one of the most popular dance albums around Europe and became one of her first records to incorporate ‘eurodance’ and ‘pop’ together. The single, ‘Let Me Be Free’ charted Europe’s biggest music charts and she was catapulted to unprecedented fame.
Personal Life & Legacy
She is known to have sued her father for having misappropriated one million pounds from her possessions while he handled her accounts for which she received 363,000 pounds as court settlement.
She was romantically linked with Peter Foster and after turning down his marriage proposal, she began a relationship with the singer and guitarist, Paul Stanley.
Rumours were rife about her sexual orientation, but later in 2003 she openly admitted being in love with her manager and fianc�e, Myra Stratton.
