Jessica Pietersen
Birth nameJessica Taylor
Born (1980-06-23) 23 June 1980 (age 43)
Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1999–2007
2013–present
Member ofLiberty X
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2007)​

Jessica Pietersen (née Taylor; born 23 June 1980) is an English singer. She is best known as member of the pop group Liberty X.[1]

Personal life

On 29 December 2007, she married England cricketer Kevin Pietersen at a service in Castle Combe.[2] They have two children: Dylan Blake, born on 10 May 2010, and Rosie, born on 27 December 2015.[3][4]

Career

1999–2007: Liberty X and hiatus

In a 1999 Pietersen starred the musical Gigi as the title role.[5] In 2001, Pietersen auditioned for the ITV reality television music competition Popstars, a show intended to form a new group from individual contestants, becoming one of the finalist. While the five winning contestants formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants – Young, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Kelli Young and Michelle Heaton – formed the group Liberty X and signed a multimillion-pound record contract with Richard Branson and V2 Records. Liberty X released three studio albums and enjoyed seven Top 10 singles from 2001 to 2005: Their biggest hit, "Just a Little", reached number one in May 2002; "Thinking It Over", "Got to Have Your Love", "Song 4 Lovers", and "Holding on for You" all reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart. They split up in 2007 after selling over 3 million records worldwide.

During this time, Pietersen also appeared on BBC's Strictly Ice Dancing in 2005, finishing in second place, and Dancing on Ice in 2009, finishing in third place. After the split, Pietersen took a long hiatus from her artistic career.[6]

2013–present: Liberty X return

In 2013 Pietersen reunited with Liberty X for ITV2's reality show The Big Reunion, along with other pop groups of their time – B*Witched, Honeyz, 911, Five and Atomic Kitten – to solve past problems and do a live performance at the London Hammersmith Apollo on 26 February.[7][8] Due to the success, Liberty X returned for a full tour between 2013 and 2014.[9] She also appeared in the game shows Hole in the Wall and The Chase, facing Mark Labbett and winning £75,000 in her individual chase.[10] In 2017, Pietersen, Kelli Young and Michelle Heaton reformed Liberty X again, but as a three-piece girl group, without Tony and Kevin.[11] Since then, they continued touring at music festivals and Pride events.[12][13]

Stage

Year Title Role
1999 Gigi Gigi

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Popstars Contestant Season 1
2005 Strictly Ice Dancing Contestant Season 1
2009 Dancing on Ice Contestant Season 4
2013 The Big Reunion Herself

Discography

For discography with her group, see Liberty X discography.

References

  1. ^ "'Big Reunion' stars return to the stage". Digital Spy. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  2. ^ Stars enjoy Pietersen wedding | Metro.co.uk
  3. ^ Pictures of Kevin Pietersen and Jessica Taylor New Baby Boy Dylan Pictures
  4. ^ "Cricketer Kevin Pietersen and Liberty X beauty Jessica Taylor welcome baby girl". Express. 28 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Jessica Pietersen". Preston City Council. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009.
  6. ^ Thursday, 18 October 2012 (18 October 2012). "ITVS to reform pop bands for The Big Reunion". Broadcast. Retrieved 18 October 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Goodacre, Kate (18 October 2012). "Atomic Kitten, 5ive, B*Witched, 911, more to reunite for ITV2 show". Digital Spy.
  8. ^ Harvey, Joanna (18 October 2012). "Atomic Kitten, 5ive, Liberty X, 911, B*Witched and The Honeyz are all to reunite for ITV2 show The Big Reunion". Daily Mirror.
  9. ^ "Atomic Kitten and 5ive set to reform for ITV2's The Big Reunion". Metro. UK. 18 October 2012.
  10. ^ "The Chase Celebrity Special Episode 7". presscentre. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  11. ^ Bychawski, Adam (18 January 2017). "Liberty X are reforming as a girl band". NME. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  12. ^ Sigodo, Melissa (18 August 2021). "Where Liberty X are now, what they look like and net worths". MyLondon.
  13. ^ Benson, Rhianna (5 July 2022). "Michelle Heaton admits 'Booze gave me the confidence to perform with Liberty X'". OK!. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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