Victoria Caroline Beckham born 17 April 1974, is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. During her rise to fame with the late 1990s girl pop group the Spice Girls, Beckham was dubbed Posh Spice, a nickname first coined by the British pop music magazine, Top of the Pops in the July 1996 issue. Since the Spice Girls pursued separate careers, she has had a solo pop music career, scoring four UK Top 10 singles. Her first single to be released, "Out of Your Mind", reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and is her highest chart entry to date. During her solo career, she has been signed to Virgin Records and Telstar Records.
Beckham has found more success as an internationally recognised and photographed style icon. Her career in fashion includes designing a line of jeans for Rock & Republic and later designing her own denim brand, dVb Style. Beckham has brought out her own range of sunglasses and fragrance, entitled Intimately Beckham, which has been released in the UK and the US. In association with the Japanese store Samantha Thavasa and Shiatzy Chen, she has produced a range of handbags and jewellery. In addition, Beckham has released two best-selling books; one her autobiography, the other a fashion guide.
In her television ventures, Beckham has participated in five official documentaries and reality shows about her, including Being Victoria Beckham and The Real Beckhams. Her last documentary was Victoria Beckham: Coming to America, which documented her move to the US with her family in 2007. She has since made a cameo appearance in an episode of American TV series Ugly Betty, and been a guest judge on Project Runway, Germany's Next Topmodel, and American Idol.
She is married to David Beckham and they have four children, Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. As of 2009, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £125 million.
Victoria was born at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex and raised in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire. She is the second child of three children born to Jacqueline and Anthony Adams. Her father worked as an electronics engineer, and the success of the family business allowed for a comfortable upbringing for Victoria and her siblings, sister Louise and brother Christian.
Victoria attended St. Mary's High School in Cheshunt. She was embarrassed by her family's wealth and often begged her father not to drop her off outside the school in their Rolls Royce. Victoria said that during her schooling days, she was a victim of bullying and often felt treated like an outsider. She commented: "Children were literally picking things up out of the puddles and throwing them at me. And I just stood there, on my own. No one was with me. I didn't have any friends."
She was inspired by watching the musical Fame, and subsequently decided that she would become famous. It was then that her parents enrolled her at Jason Theatre School. At the age of 17, Victoria attended Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey and studied dance and modelling. Eventually, she became a member of a band called Persuasion.
