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Ginger Spice Geri Horner built herself up from very modest beginnings to amassing a whopping reported fortune of £440 million. With a firm place in pop history, it’s now said she’s the richest of all the Spice Girls.
As she celebrates her 50th birthday today (August 6, 2022), let’s take a look at her incredible story.
Growing up
Geri was born Geraldine Estelle Halliwell in Watford, Herfordshire, in 1972 and grew up on a council estate in North Watford.
Her mother Ana Maria is Spanish, while her father Laurence is of English, Swedish and French descent.
She attended Watford Grammar School for Girls and Camden School for Girls and before finding fame in her girl group, worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca, as a model, and also presented the Turkish version of TV variety show Let’s Make A Deal.
She also posed for photos as a Page 3 girl before her rise to fame.
Spice Up Your Life
It was in 1994 that Geri responded to an advert in The Stage magazine for auditions for a new girl group.
Mel C, Mel B and Victoria Beckham were also there for auditions, and eventually made it into the final line up alongside Emma Bunton.
Their catchy pop hits and message of Girl Power made them an instant success and they quickly dominated pop charts, the covers of magazines, and were all over the TV and radio too.
But being in the band proved too much for Geri and she announced in 1998 that she was leaving due to depression and differences with the group.
Of course, this was far from the last we saw of her.
Going solo and back again
One year after leaving Spice Girls, Geri was back with solo album Schizophonic and lead single Look At Me.
She secured a string of number ones on her own, but years later would reunite with her former bandmates.
The girls regrouped for a reunion tour and a greatest hits album in 2007, and they also performed at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London in 2012.
In 2019, the girls embarked on a Spice World tour, but this time without Victoria, who decided not to join due to commitments with her fashion business.
Geri has also become an author, releasing an autobiography called If Only in 1999 and a second one called Just for the Record in 2002.
She’s also released a series of children’s books, had her own clothing collections, and has used her platform to raise tonnes of cash for charity.
Marriage and babies
In 2006, Geri welcomed daughter Bluebell with her now-ex Sacha Gervasi, a screenwriter.
She found her happy ever after in 2014 when she met Christian Horner, the team principal of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team.
They got engaged just nine months after they started dating and married in 2015.
Together, they welcomed son Montague in 2017, and Geri is also step-mother to Christian’s daughter Olivia from a previous relationship.
Huge net worth
It’s reported that Geri and Christian have amassed a £440 million fortune together.
Long gone is the famous Union Jack dress, and Geri has swapped out her wardrobe for a more sophisticated look to match her wealth.
She’s spoken about adopting a “uniform” of white and neutral tones after deciding in 2019 to turn her back on color.
She once said: “Everything becomes simple. I like the color, and it’s like wearing a school uniform as an adult. It matches everything and I don’t have to think in the mornings.
“It’s great for busy people, it kind of looks like you’ve made an effort when you haven’t.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mel B is worth around £4.9m, Mel C and Emma each have a reported fortune of around £24m, and Victoria is said to be worth around £372m.
