Dani Behr (born 9 July 1970) is an English former

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, actress, voice-over artist, and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

Early life

Behr was born in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

, London, of South African Jewish descent. Her father is a partner in London

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

s Behr & Butchoff. Behr is a graduate of the

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 19 ...

, and was discovered by

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

manager Tom Watkins, who put her in his female Bros concept, Faith Hope & Charity singing alongside

Diana Barrand Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

and future Xpansions member

Sally Ann Marsh Sally Anne Marsh (born 14 October 1972) is a British actress and singer. She was a member of Faith Hope & Charity (British band), Faith Hope & Charity, later becoming the vocalist for a number of groups, including Xpansions, Ariel and Hysterix. ...

, signed to

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

. However the trio were not successful and Behr moved into television production.

Career

In 1989, Behr had a brief appearance in ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' and then later was a presenter on the late night

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

music show, '' The Word'', for five years. She went on to feature in over 30 TV shows, including ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The pro ...

'', '' Hotel Babylon'', '' Ice Warriors''; and in 2001 the co-presenting role alongside

Joe Mace Joe Mace (born 10 October 1971)BBC 6 Music website
Retrieved 15 April 2007. is a British ...

on the first series of the BBC's flagship children's programme '' The Saturday Show''. She provided the voice for the on board ship's computer (also named Dani) in the computer game ''

Privateer 2 ''Privateer 2: The Darkening'' is a space flight simulation game that was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and published by Electronic Arts under the Origin Systems brand. It is a sequel to '' Wing Commander: Privateer''. The game features live-action ...

''. Behr starred in ''

Goodbye Charlie Bright ''Goodbye Charlie Bright'' is a 2001 comedy-drama film directed by Nick Love and starring Paul Nicholls, Roland Manookian and Danny Dyer. The film is also known by the U.S. title ''Strong Boys''. Plot Charlie drifts through life as he and ...

'', a film by

Nick Love Nick Love (born 24 December 1969) is an English film director and writer. His credits include the films '' The Football Factory'', '' The Business'', ''Goodbye Charlie Bright'', ''Outlaw'', ''The Sweeney'', and a 2009 remake of football hoolig ...

. She played the character of Blondie, the love interest of Charlie. From October 2001 until June 2007, she voiced the safety message on

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...

. Behr also was ''

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 ...

s female presenter of the year in 2002. After numerous presenting jobs for shows in the United States, Behr decided to move permanently to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

to begin presenting ''Extra'' for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. She went on to host several more shows for Fox, NBC/

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

, VH1, including the 2003 reality show '' Boy Meets Boy''. In between TV, Behr has also presented radio shows for

Kiss 100 Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Kiss Network. It is primarily aimed at the 15-34 age group and broadcasts nationally to the UK on DAB Digital Radio, as well as on FM in London, Bristol an ...

, and has had some minor film acting roles and appeared alongside

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

in the play ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'' both in London at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

and on Broadway at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. After marriage and the birth of her two children, Behr attempted a UK television comeback on the 2008 edition of

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 ...

's '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!'' where she was the second person to be voted out by the public, on day 12. On 20 September 2009, Behr appeared in a celebrity episode of '' Come Dine with Me'' alongside

Laila Morse Maureen Oldman (born 1 August 1945), known professionally as Laila Morse, is an English actress. Her roles include Janet in the drama film ''Nil by Mouth (film), Nil by Mouth'' (1997) and Mo Harris in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. ...

Dane Bowers Dane Leon Bowers is a British singer, songwriter, DJ and producer. He was a part of pop boy band Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles, before taking up solo projects with True Steppers and Victoria Beckh ...

, and

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follow ...

. Behr came last. Behr resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where she works as an estate agent.

Filmography

* 1989 – ''

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...

''; schoolgirl * 1996 – '' Privateer 2: The Darkening''; ship's computer (voice) * 1997 – '' Bolt''; herself * 1998 – '' Ice Warriors''; presenter * 1998 – '' Like It Is''; Paula * 1999 – '' Dark Realm''; Candy (episode "Party On") * 2001 – ''

Rancid Aluminium ''Rancid Aluminium'' is a 2000 film, based on a 1998 novel of the same name by James Hawes. It was released on 21 January 2000 to universally negative reviews, and is considered one of the worst films of all time. Cast *Rhys Ifans *Joseph Fienn ...

''; Charlie * 2001 – ''

''; Blondie * 2002 – '' Tabloid''; herself * 2004 – ''

The Littlest Groom ''The Littlest Groom'' is an American reality television special broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The two-part special premiered on February 16, 2004, and concluded on February 23, 2004. The special followed Glen Foster, a 23-yea ...

''; presenter * 2008 – '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!''; contestant

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behr, Dani 1970 births Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School English people of South African-Jewish descent English television presenters Jewish English actresses Living people People from Mill Hill 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants