Deborah Jane Ashby (born 1968) is an English former

glamour model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though ...

who appeared in British men's magazines and tabloid newspapers during the 1980s and 1990s. She was one of the best-known

Page 3 Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red-top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature, publishi ...

models of her era.

Career

Ashby was born in

Meriden, West Midlands Meriden is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically, it is part of Warwickshire and lies between the ...

. Her modelling career began when her mother, Anne Ashby, took her at age 16 to a glamour photography studio in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. In Ashby's early days as a model, Anne Ashby suggested that mother and daughter pose topless together "so that Dad could have the photo," a request Ashby later acknowledged made her feel "odd." In late 1983, she began appearing on

of '' The Sun'' and in British men's magazines. As a consequence, she was expelled from

King Henry VIII School, Coventry King Henry VIII School is a coeducational independent day school located in Coventry, England, comprising a senior school (ages 11–18) and associated preparatory school (ages 3–11). The senior school has approximately 800 pupils (120 in eac ...

, before she completed her

O-levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

. She went on to model for numerous other publications and also starred in a number of softcore videos. She retired from glamour modelling in 1996. Ashby subsequently expressed regret over her glamour modelling career. She noted that she suffered from

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

for around seven years, that men frequently preyed sexually on young glamour models, and that she underwent therapy for four years. She supported the decision to remove Page 3 from ''The Sun,'' stating that if she had a daughter, she would not want her to become a glamour model. In 2018, aged 50, Ashby featured in a charity glamour pictorial in ''The Sun'', appearing alongside other former Page 3 models to raise funds for a fellow former model's

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

treatment. She and the other models were photographed covering their breasts with their hands.

Personal life

Ashby had a controversial and widely publicised relationship with American actor

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

when she was 17 and he was 59, during which she spent time at his

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

home. In an interview, she downplayed any sexual aspect of the relationship, saying that "He wanted company. It wasn't just my boobs... He said I had an interesting personality." She was also linked romantically to Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt and gangster

Reggie Kray Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

. Ashby married session musician Richard Mead in 1992, but the marriage ended two years later. After retiring from glamour modelling, she moved to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in 1996, where she married Dave Wookey in 1999. The couple had a baby boy in 2000, but they subsequently divorced. Ashby subsequently lived with partner Johnny Mills.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Debee People from Coventry People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry 1968 births Living people English female adult models Page 3 girls