Catalina Jane Guirado is a British-New Zealander actress, reality TV star, model and designer who is best known for starring as Chris Evans' sidekick "Gorgeous Girl" on ''

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

'' from 1996 to 1997.

Early life

Guirado began performing the violin at age 7 and by age 12 she had made performances at both the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. She went on to receive a scholarship at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

Career

Modelling

Guirado was scouted by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' at the age of 15. Since then, she has appeared in multiple other magazines including ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'', ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'', '' Loaded'' and ''

SKY Magazine Sky Magazine (or 'Sky Mag') was a magazine distributed to subscribers of the BSkyB satellite service Sky Digital. Availability The magazine was available to subscribers of the Variety Pack or all packs of entertainment. Content The magazines ...

'', as well as being named in ''FHMs 100 Sexiest Women as well as various other magazines. During her modelling career, Guirado has walked the runway for prolific designers such as

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

Michiko Koshino , born in 1943, is a fashion designer. She has high-end stores in Japan and a restaurant in London. Michiko Koshino was born in Osaka, Japan to Ayako Koshino, her father died fighting during the Second World War. Her two older sisters Hiroko K ...

Scott Henshall Scott Henshall (born 15 November 1975) is a British fashion designer, philanthropist, TV personality and occasional fashion journalist. Henshall was born in York, and raised in Hartlepool, he studied womenswear at Northumbria University. Such ...

and

Rifat Ozbek Rifat Ozbek ( tr, Rıfat Özbek, ; born 1953) is a Turkish-born fashion designer, known for his exotic, ethnically-inspired outfits. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1988 and 1992. Biography Ozbek was born in Istanbul, Turkey and gr ...

. She was also the face of international advertising campaigns for such companies as

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

Wella Wella AG is a German hair care company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Franz Ströher, it specialises in hair care, styling and colorants sold to individuals as well as hairdressers and was controlled by Procter & Gamb ...

Toni & Guy Toni & Guy (stylised as TONI&GUY) is a British international chain of hairdressing salons founded in the UK in 1963 by brothers Toni and Guy Mascolo. History In 1963, Toni Mascolo and his brother Guy opened their first salon in Clapham, Londo ...

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...

and

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

Television and film

Guirado's first appearance on television was on ''

'' as a regular role being Chris Evans' sidekick, "Gorgeous Girl". She received a starring role during the "Ugly Blokes" segment of the show, where unattractive men would receive the opportunity of turning down her advances. Her regular stint on the show gave her a household name as an

it girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

. During series 3 of the show her role was dropped with no information surfacing as to why. Guirado's success on ''TFI Friday'' and on her modelling career landed her a position on

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. She entered the camp on 28 April 2003 and left on 8 May, placing 7th. She (along with the rest of the eliminated campmates) returned for the series finale on 12 May. Following her appearance on ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', Guirado was featured on many talk shows including '' Loose Lips'' and '' This Morning''. She was also featured as a special guest interview on comedy sketch show ''

Bo' Selecta! ''Bo' Selecta!'' is a British television sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and lampooned popular culture, becoming known for its often surreal, abstract toilet humour. Seaso ...

''. In the same year as her ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' appearance, Guirado was invited to take part in the ''

Stars in Their Eyes ''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format ''Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars. The show premiered on 21 July 1 ...

'' 'I'm A Celebrity' special, where she chose singer

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

. Guirado was joined by various other contestants from series 1 and 2 of the show. Guirado ended up winning and was crowned champion. Her fame during 2003 ran throughout the whole year, with Guirado making appearances various shows including ''

Celebrities Under Pressure ''Celebrities Under Pressure'' is a British game show that aired on ITV from 13 September 2003 to 7 August 2004. It was first hosted by Melanie Sykes for series 1 & 2 and then hosted by Vernon Kay for series 3. Format The show follows families ...

'' and ''

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

'', as well as hosting her own documentary about her career and sexualisation in media named ''Catalina's Commercial Clips''. In 2004, Guirado made another reality TV appearance on '' Back to Reality''. Guirado ended up 9th and was placed in the bottom two twice during her short stay, making her one of the least popular contestants on the show. In 2005, Guirado made her break into the film industry, starring as main character Grace in ''Private Moments'' (2005). She also appeared as a main character in ''Blue Sombrero'' (2005), being the nurse. Guirado hasn't since made a return to the film industry.

Music and art

Guirado was signed to the

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

to produce a song. Guirado's song, "Shine", did not gain any traction, however it was covered by Welsh girl band TnT. Guirado was the face of music web TV company LP33.tv, starting out as Senior Vice President in 2008. She was in charge of management and general PR, being the one to organise music festivals for the website. Guirado left the company in 2009 and it folded two years later. Guirado stayed in the music scene for a while, taking the role of executive consultant or TV host for many different music festivals including the

Sunset Strip Music Festival The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

and various music TV shows including some for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

. Following her father's death in July 2010, Guirado opened the Juan Antonio Guirado foundation and became an art curator for his works. Three years later in 2013, Guirado decided to carry on his legacy and open Guirado Design. Guirado is now a full time artist and designer, where she uses her business to blend art and fashion. Guirado's art can be viewed on her websit

Personal life

Guirado married i-94 band member Matt Cheadle in August 2007 in an inn in

Cookham Dean Cookham Dean is a village to the west of the village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. It is the highest point of all the Cookhams (Cookham Rise, Cookham Village and Cookham Dean). Commerce Cookham Dean is served by two pubs, Uncle Tom's Cabin an ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. Guirado is sometimes referred to as Catalina Guirado-Cheadle, however she is commonly referred to by her maiden name. Her marriage was publicised by ''

OK! magazine ''OK!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1997. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly ...

''. Guirado's father died in July 2010 after losing a battle to lung cancer. Guirado expressed how she wanted to embed him into art history. Guirado frequently updates her fashion and lifestyle blog, ''Cat-Talk''. This blog spans far before her website and was frequently featured as a talk section on magazines. Guirado is also an experienced horsewoman and has a horse named Grace-Kelly.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guirado, Catalina Living people English television actresses English female models Glamour models Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama New Zealand female models New Zealand television actresses I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants New Zealand expatriates in England People educated at the City of London School for Girls Year of birth missing (living people)