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| 17 Aug 2017 | |
| 2000's Alumni |
Born in Wandsworth, Mollie King attended Surbiton High School before she embarked on a hugely successful musical career. Whilst at the school Mollie was a keen skier, and became a member of the prestigious Surbiton High School Ski Club alongside future Olympian Chemmy Alcott. Her passion for the sport led to her becoming a member of the British Children's Ski Team, and later she received a scholarship to the British Ski Academy.
Despite her interest in and aptitude for skiing, Mollie decided to turn down a career in the sport to pursue a career in music after she graduated from Surbiton with three A grades at A-level. In a Women's health magazine interview she said "I loved skiing but I always went to bed dreaming of singing and dancing, and of being on the stage...it was hard to give [skiing] up because I was training at an Olympic level and doing well. It was a big risk. But, thank God, it paid off."
In 2005 at the age of 18 Mollie auditioned for the X-Factor but sadly was unsuccessful, with the judges viewing her as too young and inexperienced. Despite having since performed at Wembley, she claims that "it remains the most nerve wracking experience of my life." Although she was not initially successful, she was determined to succeed, and two years later she auditioned again, this time as part of The Fallen Angelz group. The group got through to the boot camp stage before unfortunately being eliminated.
However, Mollie decided to continue pursuing a career in music, and after leaving the competition she successfully auditioned to be a member of The Saturdays, who were quickly signed to Polydor records. They accompanied Girls Aloud on their 2008 tour before releasing their debut single, which entered the UK singles charts at number 8. Their album Chasing Lights went platinum, sold over 400,000 copies, charted at number 9 on the UK Album charts, and was described by some critics as a definite contender for album of the year. Since the release of their first album in 2008, the band has released 18 singles and 5 albums, with 12 top 10 singles, including one number 1. King's debut solo single Back to you was released in 2016, and she has also designed shoes to help raise funds for Save the Children.
On the 7th of August this year she was announced as the first celebrity to be taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. She'll be dancing on our screens in September.
Image Source: Alchetron
