Donna Marie Theresa Air (born 2 August 1979) is an English actress, television presenter and media personality.

Early life and education

Donna Marie Theresa Air was born on 2 August 1979, in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered b ...

, to receptionist Marie (née Lackenby) and mechanical engineer Trevor Air. The eldest of three children, Air has a sister, Francesca, and brother, Alexander. Air grew up in

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, where she attended St Oswald's Catholic Primary School and later Sacred Heart Convent School. Air was then educated at Gosforth High School, and also attended First Act Theatre, a local youth theatre group. Her fellow students at First Act Theatre included

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...

and

Anthony McPartlin Anthony David McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) is an English television presenter, singer, rapper, comedian and actor. He is best known for working alongside Dec Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec. McPartlin came to prominence ...

. Air also modelled as a child, appearing in ads for

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

and

Lenor Downy, also known as Lenor in Europe, Russia and Japan, is a brand of fabric softener produced by Procter & Gamble that was introduced in 1960. Lenor is a brand name of fabric softener and dryer sheets, also produced by P&G, sold in Europe, Rus ...

Career

First appearing as an extra on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

programme ''

Byker Grove Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

'' aged 10, Air was asked to audition for a role by a producer, and was subsequently cast as Charlie Charlton. In 1994, Air and her co-stars Jayni Hoy and Vicky Taylor formed Byker Groove!, releasing the single "Love Your Sexy", which charted at 48 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Air moved to London aged 15, continuing the band as a duo with Hoy as Crush. Two of the band's singles released in 1996, "Jellyhead" and "Luv'd Up", charted in the UK at 50 and 45 respectively, while their debut studio album ''Teenage Kicks'' failed to chart. The band's management team booked Crush on a tour of the United States, Japan and

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, commencing after Air completed her

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

, with "Jellyhead" subsequently peaking at 76 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. Following her promotional touring, she returned to the United Kingdom and in September 1997 signed to

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...

to host the daily live show, ''

MTV Select ''MTV Select'' was an interactive music television program airing on MTV channels across Europe and later on MTV Japan, MTV Canada, and MTV India. The show was hosted by a VJ, and viewers were able to contact the programme (using technologies l ...

'', later becoming a presenter of several 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 ...

'',

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 ...

's flagship morning entertainment show. Air departed ''MTV Select'' in April 2000, citing her desire to return to acting and to devote more time to her role on ''The Big Breakfast'' as the reasons for her departure. In January 2001, Air was promoted to a main presenter on ''The Big Breakfast'' in a relaunch of the programme amid falling viewer figures. However, Air later resigned in May of that year, with Channel 4 axing ''The Big Breakfast'' shortly thereafter. Also in May, Air appeared in ''

The Mummy Returns ''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American adventure horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez, Freddie Boath, Alun Armstrong, and Dway ...

'', the sequel to ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...

'' (1999), in a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo" that BBC film critic Neil Smith described as one of the only points of difference between the sequel and the original film. She has also appeared in many television dramas, most recently ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' in 2010 and '' Hotel Babylon'' in 2008,

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

comedy ''

Operation Good Guys ''Operation Good Guys'' is a British mockumentary series about an elite police unit's bid to snare one of Britain's most powerful crime lords. It was first screened on BBC Two from 29 December 1997 to 31 August 2000. It witnesses, on camera, the ...

'',

Catherine Cookson Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE (''née'' McMullen; 20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile i ...

's six-parter ''A Dinner of Herbs'', and

Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...

's '' Supply & Demand''. Air appeared in the films ''

Still Crazy ''Still Crazy'' is a 1998 British comedy film directed by Brian Gibson (his final film before his death in 2004). The plot concerns a fictional 1970s rock band named Strange Fruit, who, after being split up for two decades, are persuaded to get ...

'' (1998) and '' Bad Day'' (2008) amongst others. Air presented on ''

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

's'' early evening, magazine programme ''

Live from Studio Five ''Live from Studio Five'' was an early-evening British magazine programme produced by Sky News for Channel 5. It was presented by Kate Walsh and a lineup of co-presenters. It featured interviews and discussions on topical issues, emphasizing sh ...

'', alongside regular presenter of the programme, Kate Walsh. In January 2013, Air participated in the

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 ...

programme '' Splash!'' She replaced

Jennifer Metcalfe Jennifer Joanne Metcalfe (born 4 September 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles of Jade Nicholls in Emmerdale and Mercedes McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', which she has appeared in since 2006. Her port ...

at short notice. In November 2017, Air announced that she would be taking part in the tenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

''. She was partnered with

Mark Hanretty Mark Hanretty (born 21 March 1985) is a Scottish former competitive ice dancer who represented the United Kingdom with Christina Chitwood. They are two-time (2008, 2010) British medalists and competed at the 2009 European Championships, placin ...

. They were eliminated in Week 7. In 2019, Air was announced as having a starring role in the second series of the drama '' The Split'', which started airing on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in February 2020.

Personal life

In 2000, Air met businessman and animal conservationist

Damian Aspinall John Damian Androcles Aspinall (born 24 May 1960) is an English businessman and conservationist. He has raised and released a number of zoo-bred lowland gorillas in Gabon. Early life Aspinall is the son of Jane Gordon Hastings and John Victor ...

, having been introduced by their mutual friend

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson Tara Claire Palmer-Tomkinson (23 December 1971 – 8 February 2017), also known as T P-T, was an English socialite and television personality. She appeared in several television shows, including the reality programme '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me ...

. The pair began a long-term relationship, with Air giving birth to their daughter, Freya Air Aspinall, in September 2003. Shortly after her birth the couple announced their intention to place their baby daughter in the care of a gorilla, a ritual in which Aspinall's older children had already taken part. Air and Aspinall separated amicably in 2007. In 2013, Air began dating James Middleton, the younger brother of

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

(then the Duchess of Cambridge); the pair eventually separated in 2018. Air lives in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, London. Air supports the

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, a ...

Race for Life Race for Life is a series of fundraising events, organised by charity Cancer Research UK. They involve running, jogging or walking a 5-kilometre, 10-kilometre or 'Pretty Muddy' course and raising sponsorship for doing so. The money raises funds fo ...

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educati ...

and

Jeans for Genes Jeans for Genes Day is a national fundraiser held in Australia and the United Kingdom.The two fundraisers are not associated with one another and raise money for different organisations. Jeans for Genes (Australia) In Australia, Jeans for Genes ...

charities.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Air, Donna 1979 births 20th-century English actresses English film actresses English television actresses English television presenters English media personalities Living people People from Gosforth Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at Gosforth Academy