Ashley Roberts

Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a former member of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide, becoming one of the world's best-selling female groups of all time. Roberts also had a brief career as a solo singer when she released the album '' Butterfly Effect'' (2014).

Roberts has presented various television shows, including '' Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (2013–2016), the Emmy-nominated  ''1st Look'' (2016–2018), '' The Real Dirty Dancing UK'' (2022), and '' Dance Monsters'' (2022–present). She has also appeared on British reality television shows, including ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' (2012), ''Dancing on Ice'' (2013–2014) which she served as a judge, ''The Jump'' (2015), and ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2018).

In 2019, Roberts became the showbiz correspondent for the national ''Heart Breakfast'' radio show. Since 2022, she has been a presenter for '' Heart 00s,'' a spin-off from the Heart radio network.

Early life

Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Shadow Mountain High School. She is the daughter of Pat Roberts, the former drummer of the Mamas & the Papas, and Peggy Lorraine, a Pilates instructor. She began dancing at the age of three and singing at eight. Roberts' hair was brunette during her teenage years.

Career

2001–2010: The Pussycat Dolls

In 2001 Roberts moved to Los Angeles to study modern dance and appeared in various television commercials and music videos such as Counting Crows " Accidentally in Love", Josh Groban's " You Raise Me Up", Jane's Addiction's "True Nature", Aaron Carter's " Oh Aaron" and "Not Too Young, Not Too Old" and Pink's " Trouble". In 2003, Robin Antin saw her work in music videos and asked Roberts to join the Pussycat Dolls, along with Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt and Jessica Sutta. The group achieved worldwide success with the singles " Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", " Buttons", and their multi-platinum debut album '' PCD'' (2005). During that time, Roberts also starred the dance film '' Make It Happen''. The group's second and final studio album '' Doll Domination'' (2008) contains hit singles " When I Grow Up", " I Hate This Part" and " Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)".

Despite their commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict due to the emphasis on Scherzinger and the subordinate treatment of the other members. In February 2010, for these reasons, Roberts, Wyatt, Sutta, and Thornton had announced their departures from The Pussycat Dolls and the group disbanded.

2010–2019: Television and ''Butterfly Effect''

On September 28, 2010, Roberts released a solo promotional single, a cover of Percy Faith's 1959 hit single " A Summer Place". Afterwards, Roberts took a two-year hiatus from her artistic career to follow guru Mata Amritanandamayi on spiritual retreats. In 2012 she signed a record deal with independent label Cherry Red Records and released "Yesterday" as her debut solo single. In November she competed in the British reality show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', airing on ITV, finishing as runner-up. From 2013 to 2014 Roberts was judge of dance figure skating series ''Dancing on Ice''. In 2013 Roberts stabilized as television presenter, debuting in the variety show '' Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' from 2013 to 2016. In 2014 Roberts also presented ''WWE Legends' House''.

That year, Roberts signed with Metropolis London and released her debut solo album, '' Butterfly Effect'', on September 1, 2014, only in UK. The album served two singles: "Woman Up" and "Clockwork", which reached number 175 in UK and 18 in UK Indie Charts. In 2016 she left '' Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' and signed with NBC to present the travel and lifestyle program ''1st Look'', from 2016 to 2018. The work was nominated for Emmy Awards as Best Travel and Adventure Program. In 2018 Roberts competed in BBC dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', in the United Kingdom, and finished as a finalist. In 2019, Roberts became the showbiz correspondent of the ''Heart Breakfast'', Heart Radio show hosted by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden. That following month, she made her West End debut, portraying Dawn, in the musical, '' Waitress''.

2019–present: The Pussycat Dolls reunion and more television

On November 29, 2019, The Pussycat Dolls confirmed their comeback and, on February 7, 2020, they released a new single, " React", with a live performance on the finale of '' The X Factor: Celebrity''. They announced a 36-date world tour, but plans were canceled due the worsening situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the group ended the reunion in 2021.

In 2020 she appeared in '' Celebrity Gogglebox'', a British docu-series about a groups of people watching and reacting to television programming during the week. In 2022 she presentes the British reality show '' The Real Dirty Dancing UK''. Since 2022 she presents the Netflix dance show '' Dance Monsters'' and Heart Radio show ''Heart 00's''.

Products and endorsements

Roberts has launched her first line of lingerie designed for the beach in Sydney, Australia. In 2016, Roberts designed a women's shoe collection for spring/summer 2017 called ALLYN, after her middle name.

Filmography

Television

Film

Radio

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*

Official website

Official Twitter

Official YouTube

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Ashley
1981 births
American expatriates in England
American film actresses
American television actresses
American female dancers
Dancers from Arizona
American dance teachers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American women pop singers
The Pussycat Dolls members
Actresses from Phoenix, Arizona
Living people
A&M Records artists
Interscope Records artists
Metropolis Records artists
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers