Nicola Elizabeth Formby (born 22 April 1965) is a South African journalist, company director and food consultant, and a former model and actress.

Life and career

Born in South Africa in 1965, Formby has recalled that while she was growing up there "dogs lived in kennels outside and never ever came into the house with their muddy paws". She came to England and was educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...

. In her teens, David Bailey photographed her for a magazine cover and said she reminded him of

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. S ...

. This led to modelling work for

Clairol Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong frien ...

and

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 & Gam ...

and to TV commercials in Germany. From modelling, Formby went on to appear in the

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

comedy '' The Man from Auntie'' (1990). She played the leading role of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, in the three-hour television movie '' The Women of Windsor'' (1992), about the lives of Diana and Sarah Ferguson. She also appeared in the television series '' Bugs'' and ''

The All New Alexei Sayle Show ''The All New Alexei Sayle Show'' was a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC2 television for a total of twelve episodes, over two series in 1994 and 1995. The title sequence featured Alexei Sayle as an innocent, newly arrived man in London singin ...

'' (1995). Moving into journalism, Formby became editor-at-large of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

Lynn Barber Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in south-west London. While she was studying for her A-Levels she ...

"The secret diary of Adrian Gill, aged 45"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', 6 January 2004 and is also a food consultant for

Pret a Manger Pret A Manger (''prêt à manger'' is French for ''ready to eat'') is an international sandwich shop franchise chain based in the United Kingdom, popularly referred to as Pret, founded in 1983. As of December 2022, Pret had 434 shops in the UK, ...

and

Itsu Itsu is a British chain of East Asian-inspired fast food shops and restaurants and a grocery company.Moules, Jonathan"Itsu founder nurtures a new generation" '' Financial Times'', London, 21 January 2014. Retrieved on 21 January 2014. The chain ...

Personal life

From 1995 until his death in 2016, Formby was the partner of A. A. Gill, author and restaurant critic of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', who left his wife

Amber Rudd Amber Augusta Rudd (born 1 August 1963) is a British former politician who served as Home Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye, fir ...

for her and in his columns called her "The Blonde". They had twins together, a boy and a girl, born in 2007.

Michael Bywater Michael Bywater (born 11 May 1953) is an English non-fiction writer and broadcaster. He has worked for many London newspapers and periodicals and contributed to the design of computer games. Biography Bywater was educated at the independent Nottin ...

wrote of them "He and Nicola Formby are a

Power Couple A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

, which we hate, don't we?" A feud between Gill and

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

may have originated when Morgan described Formby as a "sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll" and claimed she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".John Costello
"Morgan hits pay dirt after years of digging for trash"
''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' at independent.ie, 22 June 2010, accessed 6 March 2021

References

External links

*
Nicola Formby
''

''
Nicola Formby
bellazon.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Formby, Nicola Elizabeth 1965 births 20th-century South African actresses Living people People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African models South African women journalists