Job: singer, presenter
Age: 26
Industry: music, broadcasting
New entry
Cheryl Cole was once a contestant on an ITV talent show. Now she is a judge on one of them, outshining Simon Cowell on The X Factor.
One fifth of Girls Aloud, who have had 20 consecutive top 10 singles in the UK, Cole has become a national institution thanks to the Saturday night ITV1 show. In the process she also helped rescue a talent show format that was in danger of going stale.
"A dignified, level-headed and compassionate national treasure," said Julie Burchill. My favourite member of Girls Aloud, said David Cameron. And the sexiest woman in the world, said readers of the top-selling men's magazine FHM.
That rarest of female stars – one whose appeal appears to cross the gender divide – Cole has left her bandmates behind. Literally so, if reports of a planned solo album turn out to be correct.
Married to England and Arsenal star Ashley, Cole was also a face of BBC1's Comic Relief, as one of nine celebrities who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the biennial fundraiser.
No TV performer's star is burning quite so brightly as Cole's, said our panel. Newspaper and magazine editors can't get enough of her, and The X Factor – one of ITV's two most important shows – wouldn't be the same without her. It's not easy being a talent show judge. Just ask Kelly Brook.
It is quite a comeback for the singer who appeared to have pressed the self-destruct button on her career six years ago when she was charged with punching a black female toilet attendant in a nightclub. Cole was fined and given 120 hours community service but cleared of any racial motivation.
Cole's is a classic rags-to-riches story; she left school in Newcastle with few qualifications before she sprang to fame with Girls Aloud on 2002's Popstars: the Rivals, an ITV talent show which – shock horror – did not feature Simon Cowell. Possibly that is the reason why it only lasted one series.
Judge Pete Waterman told her: "You have the most beautiful eyes and skin I think I've ever seen in my life. You'd need to be dead if you didn't think she was stunning."
Cowell, who knows a good thing when he sees it, has reportedly offered Cole £1m to return as a judge for its sixth series, which is currently being filmed and will air on ITV1 later this year. Formerly known as the quiet one from Girls Aloud, she is now a TV star and style icon in her own right. Next stop America? With Cowell's help, you wouldn't bet against it.