Inside lives of 90s glamour models from homelessness to Hollywood fame

Daily Record

07-05-2025

The 1990s were the golden age for glamour models, who were catapulted to fame by men's magazines like FHM and Loaded - but what happened to the women who graced the pages of those publications?
Today, sliding into the DMs of enticing Instagram models might be the norm for a bit of flirtation, but rewind to the early 2000s, and those looking for an eyeful would have to physically purchase magazines from the shops. FHM, Loaded, Nuts, and Zoo were the prime choices, with pages adorned with the models who hung on the walls of young men across the country.
As the end of the decade approached, however, the lads' mags industry faced a decline. With the internet's rise and changing views on glamour modelling, the magazines had a tough time, causing their cover girls to seek different routes in life – some finding success, others not so much, as noted by the Mirror.
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Gail Porter
One such lads' mag icon is Scots star Gail Porter. Known initially for her roles on Fully Booked and Top of the Pops, she became quite the sensation on the scene, candidly talking about orgasms and even having her bare backside beamed onto the Houses of Parliament as part of a cheeky stunt for FHM magazine's '100 sexiest women' poll in 1999.
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The Edinburgh-born presenter tied the knot with Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave in 2001 and gave birth to their daughter Honey a year after. Despite her public persona, Porter was battling post-natal depression in private, and her marriage breakdown in 2005 coincided with a diagnosis of alopecia that resulted in her losing all of her hair.
"It was absolutely terrifying, I didn't know what was going on," she would later share about the ordeal.
"We didn't have any therapy, we just sat there. People were crying and acting quite strangely, obviously. I was drugged up to my eyeballs and found it all very distressing."
By 2017 the now 54-year-ols's most challenging period came when she was declared bankrupt and ended up homeless, spending nights on a bench in Hampstead Heath.
"Those were the scariest nights of my life. There were lots of terrifying noises. I had no idea what they were. I was freezing and I didn't know who was coming for me," she recounted to The Sun.
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She linked her financial woes to her experience with hair loss.
"Losing my hair was a big thing. I was OK with it and people around me would say it was fine but people stopped booking me for TV work," she said.
"The jobs that were coming so freely during the nineties weren't there for me any more. By then I was renting a place and my savings started to dribble away."
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Keeley Hazell
Keeley Hazell, originally from Lewisham, London, saw her fortunes change after winning the Daily Star's Search for a Beach Babe competition at the age of just 17.
Famed for her down-to-earth quotes, such as: "If I'm swimming in a pool and my bikini pops off, I'm not bothered – I'll just carry on," Keeley became an instant hit, securing deals with publications like Loaded, Nuts, Zoo, and FHM, which affectionately dubbed her a 'Kentish melon farmer'.
Reflecting on her career peak, she said: "I was travelling all the time, and financially my situation changed a lot. I was earning a lot of money. At the time you don't realise and I look back and think 'that was crazy.'"
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Now 38, Keeley once reigned as the glamour model with more sultry snaps than anyone else in her prime but retired her bikini in 2009 when her earnings dropped from £30,000 a shoot to a mere £1,000 due to dwindling magazine sales.
Cleverly, she turned her financial fortunes around by investing in acting lessons in Los Angeles, subsequently appearing in the acclaimed 2011's Like Crazy, British gangster film St George's Day, and the Hollywood blockbuster Horrible Bosses 2.
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While filming Horrible Bosses, Keeley met actor Jason Sudeikis, who was dating actress and director Olivia Wilde at the time. Then, in 2020, she began starring in Ted Lasso, a sports comedy-drama, remaining in the role until the show's finale and even co-writing an episode.
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Keeley was reunited with her Horrible Bosses co-star, Jason, 49, as he played Ted, and the two were romantically involved from 2021 to 2022.
On Keeley's Instagram, her bio humorously references her previous career, stating: 'Livin' my breast life', but lists her current occupation as 'writer'. Her debut memoir, Everyone's Seen My T**s, is set for release on July 15.
Leilani Dowding
Leilani Dowding may have initially turned heads with her looks, but she also boasts a sharp intellect, having studied economics at the University of London before clinching the Miss Great Britain crown and becoming a prominent figure in various lad mags.
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She ultimately uprooted her life, moving to Los Angeles in the mid-2000s where she would go on to marry Raquel Welch's former husband, restaurant mogul Richie Palmer.
Their love was real, yet the significant age gap of 26 years proved challenging, and their differing opinions on starting a family led them down the path to divorce.
Coming out strong against being branded a gold digger on VH1's Tough Love Miami, Leilani stood firm in her values, saying: "I was the one who wanted to get divorced from my ex. He just assumed I would want something from it and offered me a huge settlement. Because it was my choice, I didn't ask for anything."
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In response to sceptics, she addressed them directly, saying: "Because he is a lot older, people assume that yes, I was a gold digger. My ex husband was amazing and such a gentlemen.
"But he didn't want kids and I did. That is why we didn't work out. We are still friends and if he ever thought I was just out for money, he would probably never speak to me again."
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At 45, Leilani plunged into reality TV, joining The Real Housewives of Cheshire in its ninth series after Lauren Simon's exit. However, following a brief stint, she announced that she would not be returning to the ITVBe show after just one series.
Six years after her departure, as the show celebrated its 10th anniversary, original stars such as Tanya Bardsley, Leanne Brown, Dawn Ward, and Magali Gorre made a comeback to "The Real Housewives of Cheshire."
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They were joined by newer faces like Hanna Kinsella, Ester Dee, and Nermina Pieters-Mekic.
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However, Leilani disclosed on social media that she wasn't invited to the anniversary series. Engaged to Billy Duffy of The Cult, she suspects her absence is due to her often controversial social media remarks.
Leilani shared in a video post: "A few of my friends and some people I don't know who follow me or the show have asked if I'll be going back on The Real Housewives of Cheshire as it's the tenth anniversary and they're bringing back a lot of the previous cast members. But no, I haven't been asked."
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She continued: "It's possible because I've been very outspoken about political and social things that no-one on mainstream TV should ever talk about. Also, I think it's more likely because there would be no storyline for me. I live south of Cheshire now, just a little bit, south of the border. I haven't spoken to or hung out with any of the women since I left the show."
Abi Titmuss
Abi Titmuss became a tabloid sensation when she supported her then-partner John Leslie during the collapse of his 2003 sexual assault case.
The former nurse switched careers to become a reporter for Richard and Judy. However, her career took a hit in 2004 when a sex tape involving herself, John and model Aisha Abubakar was leaked, resulting in her dismissal from the show.
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Abi then left modelling behind in the mid-2000s to study acting at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama, eventually landing a role on BBC's Casualty in 2012.
Her next major move took her across the pond, where she secured the role of Nurse Jackie in popular soap Days of Our Lives, and fell in love with Ari Welkom.
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In a January 2015 appearance on Loose Women, Abi announced that she had rebranded herself as Abigail Evelyn, distancing herself from her glamour modelling past.
She and Ari got married in May 2017 while she was 21 weeks pregnant with their first child.
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"I met Ari when I was 38 and got pregnant naturally at 40," Abi revealed to the Loose Women panel.
Kelly Brook
With a figure to die for, it's no surprise that she was once named FHM's 'Sexiest Woman in the World'.
Having made her debut in the glamour industry in 1997, Kelly quickly became a favourite among readers as a Page 3 icon, and regularly featured in FHM's Sexiest countdown until its closure in 2015.
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Now aged 45, Kelly had an unsuccessful stint presenting the Big Breakfast in 1999 before she resigned after just a few months, amid allegations that she struggled with pronouncing complex words.
She faced tremendous personal challenges, from hosting Celebrity Love Island to ending her engagement with Hollywood actor Billy Zane in 2008.
She endured profound sorrow in her private life when, back in 2011, she suffered a miscarriage five months into her pregnancy with then-partner and rugby player Thom Evans, before facing another miscarriage later the same year.
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The relationship with Thom ultimately failed to survive these hard times. After moving to Los Angeles for his modelling pursuits, he expressed a reluctance to settle down, as Kelly shared in her autobiography: "When I brought up the subject of marriage and children, the colour drained from his face."
She added: "He wanted to focus on his 'new life' in LA - a wife and children would slow him down. He didn't want to be in a relationship anymore. It was obvious."
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Now settled in Kent, Kelly enjoys life with her model spouse Jeremy Parisi, with the couple appearing together in the most recent series of Celebrity Race Across the World.
In recent years, Kelly has achieved not only professional success but also a health transformation by losing two stone and shrinking four dress sizes. Embracing her role as a SlimFast brand ambassador, she successfully dropped from a size 16 to a size 12, attributing the remarkable health achievement to the weight management programme.
Opening up about her previous struggles with weight during the 2010s, she previously said: "I wasn't feeling happy in my body. I wanted to lose weight, and now I've lost it. I'm maintaining it and feel really good."
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